The Eighth Swordsman
by Maverick Wilde
Summary: While on a mission in the Fire Country, Mei Terumi was ambushed by missing nin and almost raped before being saved by a mysterious swordsman. Now Mei wakes up in Konoha Hospital and searches for Naruto, while he rises to the mantle of the fabled "Eighth Swordsman", ancient leader of the Seven Shinobi Swordsman. Naruto/small harem. Slight Bleach elements. Lemons in future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

The Eighth Swordsman

Chapter 1

Mei Terumi was not having a good day as she ran through a forest in the Fire County near Konoha. In fact it was shaping up to be one of the worst in her short life.

The day had started off nicely enough. She and her team had just finished a standard C rank escort mission they had been assigned by the administrator in the Mizukage Tower. She and her team were joking around and laughing as they went about their mission, she could remember the bright smiles and sparkling eyes on their faces though now those eyes had glazed over and their smiles were now horrible grimaces showing the pain of their deaths.

They had left after a quick breakfast and were making good time when they were struck by an ambush of missing nin from Iwa. Kasumi was the first to fall, as a kunai lodged into her skull, with the other Chunin of her squad, Shinji putting a fearsome fight before falling victim to a well placed shuriken. Pretty soon it was just her and her Jonin commander fighting back to back against nine missing nin. They actually doing pretty well until her commander was mortally wounded when one of the eight remaining missing nin slipped inside his guard and stabbed him through the heart with a katana. The maneuver however cost the rogue nin his life as exploding tags all over the fallen Jonin's body went off, providing Mei with the distraction needed to make good on her escape.

And now here she was, half an hour later darting through the trees, heavily fatigued from her desperate flight and the battle beforehand. She could hear the voices of the enemy shinobi catching up to her. She continued running, knowing being caught meant a fate worse than death and every kunoichi's worst nightmare.

* * *

A branch caught her foot and she let one word fall from her lips as she plummeted to the forest floor below and then into blissful unconsciousness. "Fuck"

She awoke to the sounds of men laughing and upon remembering her current situation started to struggle against the ropes binding her. The sound of her struggles caught the attention of the seven remaining missing nin sitting by a fire bathing everything in the dark forest in orange light.

"Aw look at the cute little thing, how did she know I like it when they struggle" the apparent leader of them said, a lecherous grin working its way on to his face.

Mei froze at his words and tears started to fill her eyes as the reality of her situation gripped her. She was about to be raped. She remained frozen as their hands started to grab at her clothing, tearing apart the blue dress she wore and then the mesh armor underneath it, leaving her in nothing more than her bra and panties though they would soon be gone as well. Tears were falling from her eyes as their hands roughly groped her breasts through her bra.

One of the rogue shinobi noticed the tears and grinned. "Relax little girl and just enjoy the ride like I know you will you tight little slut". She then felt her panties being removed and heard the sound of a zipper being pulled down. She lost all hope of rescue as she closed her eyes tight to try and brace herself for the coming pain. Only to hear a voice rip through silence of the dark forest lit only by a crescent moon in the sky.

"GETSUGA TENSHO".

She opened her eyes as she saw the man about to enter her be cleaved in half by a crescent moon shaped arc of black, rimmed red chakra, the lecherous grin on his face still in the process of turning into a look of shock. The other six missing nin jumped back, looking around for this new threat. Suddenly a shadow fell over her and she looked up to see a tall, black haired man holding a sword in a defensive stance in front of her. He was dressed in a red short sleeved coat with black flames decorating the bottom, black combats adorned with red flames, a red t-shirt that had black flames decorating it, black combat boots and a black gauntlet with a red seal etched into it, protecting his left forearm and hand. The sword in his right hand was a daito. It was single edged with a black, four feet long blade, a crossguard in the shaped of the kanji for full and a few broken chain links hanging from the black, foot long hilt, which had a red diamond pattern. He then turned to Mei and kneeled down, taking off his sage coat and laying it over her body, covering her modesty after she had pulled up her panties.

"A-arigatou" she said blushing while looking up into his handsome face. He had red slitted eyes and three whisker marks on each cheek. _Kawaii_ she inwardly squealed when she saw them.

"Happy to help" he said in a warm tone before turning back around to face the six would be rapists.

"Get out of the way asshole and maybe you can have a go with her after we're done or else we'll just kill you and then fuck her right over your dead body".

"Or I could kick all your ass's in an extremely violent, not to mention badass fashion" he replied with a cocky grin.

"Oh yeah and how are you gonna do that" the one on the right shouted.

"Like so" the crimson-eyed swordsman replied with a savage grin as he disappeared, reappearing behind the jackass with his blade finishing it's deadly arc as it separated the rogue nin's head from his body. The next rouge shinobi came in with an overhead slash which our dark hero easily batted to the side, leaving his opponent's guard wide open which he happily took advantage of with a quick thrust of his daito, piercing the man's stomach before ripping the blade out, an action which led to the man's stomach being torn open as his intestines fell on the forest floor. He then ducked underneath a boulder sent his way courtesy of another one of his opponents and replied in kind, holding his arm out as the seals on his gauntlet glowing brightly before a ball of red fire was launched from the seal on his palm at an alarming speed. The four shinobi tried to dodge but two were too slow as the fireball exploded against them and were consumed by the flames, leaving only ash behind as the fire disapated.

"Earth Style: Rock Gauntlet" the shinobi nearest to him shouted as he ran forward with his rock encased fist. He simply ducked and spun, his blade parallel to the ground as his opponent's fist sailed over his head. He rose back up out of his spin and stood as the top half of his enemy's body fell down while the bottom half kept running before joining it's other half on the ground, revealing the cut that severed him at the waist.

"And then there was one" the swordsman remarked, looking over at the remaining shinobi. "But not for long" he added as an afterthought and then disappeared. The rogue shinobi, not wanting to end up like his partners tried to run, only to be cleaved in half by the arc of chakra that claimed his leader, launched from the swordsman's blade.

With his enemies defeated the swordsman went back over to Mei. He then stopped in front of her and laid his blade down on the ground.

"Miss, can I come closer? I need to make sure you don't have any serious injuries that can't wait for the hospital" he asked. Mei hesitated and seeing this, the swordsman thought of a possible solution and spoke up.

"If you want to Miss you can hold onto my sword in case you feel like I'm doing anything inappropriate. Does that sound all right to you?" he asked and upon seeing her nod, handed her the blade. She then removed the blanket and the swordsman took in her features. She had long auburn hair that lay pooled around her that must have reached down to her ankles in a herringbone pattern with a bang covering one eye while leaving the other emerald orb exposed. She had pale, smooth skin, and he could see her bra straining against the sizable bust they contained, double D's guessed. He also took notice of her luscious curves and firm, round ass which, combined with her bust gave her the fabled "hour-glass figure" so many looked for. All in all she was a goddess in human form.

"Beautiful" he breathed out, unaware he said it out loud. Mei however was and blushed crimson once more. He shook his head and encased his hands in the green glow of medical chakra as he moved them over her body to perform the diagnostic jutsu.

"You have a sprained ankle but nothing serious apart from that so I'll have to carry you to the nearest hospital, is that all right?" he asked as he ended the jutsu and began bandaging her wounds and making a splint from a nearby branch.

"Yeah, and it's Mei" she said, tired of being called "Miss".

"Pardon" he asked.

"My name is Mei, Mei Terumi not Miss." she repeated drowsily, the fatigue from her fight and flight, starting to get to her.

"Shining Beauty eh, well it accurate if nothing else. Anyway Mei-san, it's a nice to meet you though I wish it could have been under more pleasant circumstances. Now come on, we need to get you to the hospital" he said and scooped her up into his arms bridal style, ignoring her blush and started jumping through the trees towards Konoha.

Mei yawned, feeling sleepy and loving how warm and safe his arms made her feel while blushing at how muscular his chest and arms felt through his clothes. He noticed this and told her to rest while he got her to a hospital. Mei nodded and fell asleep, snuggling into his chest as she did so. He smiled at this and continued onwards, intent on reaching the hospital before she woke up.

**AN: This is the first chapter of The Eighth Swordsman and my first story over and done with. This story will updated rarely as life is kinda hectic at the moment though I will be able to update frequently by July. Any way all reviews and criticisms are welcome provided they are constructive and not flames that will be used to cook glorious, glorious bacon for my enjoyment.**

**Edited: 13 June 2013**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. A guy called Kishimoto does. Sigh, I can see why authors bitch about posting that, it's a total downer.

The Eighth Swordsman

Chapter 2

Mei woke up to the glare of sunlight through open windows. "Fucking sunlight" she groaned. "Why must you be such a bitch". She looked around to see she lay in a bed with her left ankle in a cast and suspended above the bed in a plain white hospital room. She spotted a red short sleeved coat with black flames along the bottom hanging over a chair beside the bed and the events of last night came back and hit her like a wrecking ball. She remembered everything, the ambush, her desperate flight, her capture and almost being raped before her savior came to the rescue. 'He must have been the one to bring me here' she thought to her self. She shed a tear for her teammates and said a quick prayer for their souls. She didn't know them that well as this was her first mission with them but still, they were good shinobi and better people and deserved to be mourned.

"So, your finally awake I see". Mei looked around to see who had spoken and found an old man in red and white robes and a large triangular red and white hat, closing door behind him as he entered the room. He sat down in the seat beside her bed with a warm grandfatherly smile on his face as he waited for her questions.

"Not to be rude but who the hell are you and where the hell am I" she asked. Hiruzen chuckled at the way her question was phrased before answering.

"Sorry for not introducing myself, my name is Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage and you are in Konohagakue no Sato, it's hospital to be specific. You were dropped off here late last night by our mutual friend. Now, may I ask to whom am I am speaking". Mei felt like face palming, she had just potentially offended the legendary Hiruzen Sarutobi, the only man who earned the title "The God of Shinobi" since the Rikudou Sennin himself. A man also known as "The Professor" due to his wisdom, knowledge and profound mastery of the Shinobi Arts. A man who had led his village to victory through two of the three Shinobi World Wars, a man taught by the Shodaime and Nidaime Hokages and in turn taught the Densetsu No Sannin. Hell, even in his old age he was still rumored to be the strongest of the Five Kage.

"Mei Terumi, Tokubetsu Jonin of Kirigakure No Sato and I would like to apologise for the informal way I spoke earlier Hokage-sama"she said in chagrin tone. Hiruzen merely chuckled.

"It's no problem at all my dear, in fact it's rather refreshing to have someone willing to speak to me plainly. I've grown weary of formalities in my old age. So feel free to call Hiruzen" he said with that same smile on his face.

"O-Okay Hiruzen-san. Do you know where the man who rescued me is? I never got the chance to find out who he was and thank him for saving me" Mei asked in a slightly anxious tone.

"Oh him, he brought you here and left once he was sure you were going to okay. Though it appears that he left his coat behind. That boy is as forgetful as his mother was" he replied though he muttered the last sentence.

"Do you know what his name was, I need to thank him" Mei asked a little desperately, she needed to know who he was and thank him, maybe by taking him out for dinner, he was handsome after all.

"He foresaw this and said his name didn't matter, all that mattered was that you were safe. He also said all the thanks he needed was be able to see and spend some time in the company of a beauty such as yourself no matter how short the time was. Besides he always said he was a sucker for a damsel in distress. He's just similar to his father in that regard". The Professor answered, again muttering the last sentence.

"Please Hiruzen I need to thank him for saving me. I can't stand the thought of not paying him back for his help and having this over my head. Please, please, please tell who he is" Mei practically begged the old man while blushing at the indirect compliment.

Seeing the determination in her eyes, Hiruzen sighed as thought about the best way to deny her request. He was about to let her down when an idea struck him. It brought a mischievous glint to his eye and replaced his patented warm grandfatherly smile with a vulpine smirk that would have made Naruto proud. Mei grew nervous at his smirk but Hiruzen paid it no mind as he plotted his revenge. _'This'll teach the gaki not to replace my precious Icha Icha with that yaoi nightmare' _he thought with a smirk while simultaneously drooling at the thought of the works of The Great Jiraiya and shuddering at the thought of yaoi. And anyway today was the day Naruto was going to graduate from the academy so he no longer needed that idiot mask of his. _'I'll give her a chance to find him and if she hasn't by noon I'll bring her to his graduation'. _

"Alright Mei-san I just so happen to know where he'll be this afternoon after lunch so if you can't find him by this afternoon come up to Hokage Tower and we'll go together. Does that sound alright?" he asked, his smile reverting back to its warm grandfatherly state but the mischievous glint in his eyes remained.

"Thank you so much Hiruzen-kun" Mei said gratefully.

"Happy to help Mei-chan, happy to help" Hiruzen replied.

* * *

A few minutes later a nurse was called in and declared Mei's ankle healed to enough to put weight on and told she would be able to resume he kunoichi duties in a week and warned not to try anything beforehand. It's always amazing how intimidating a cute little nurse can be with a sweet smile, an even sweeter tone and an Oni mask behind her. Mei nodded hastily in agreement returning the nurse to her normal kind demeanor. Mei took note of the smile and voice though, figuring it might be useful to know later on.

* * *

In Kiri

A middle-aged man with blue hair styled in the shape of a shark fin, an eye patch over his right eye and two talisman earings with the Kanji for "To Hear" on them was walking down the street with some fellow Hunter nin when he suddenly stopped and shivered.

"Is something wrong Ao-sempai?" One of his companions asked upon noticing Ao shaking.

"I'm not sure Chojuro but I just got a sense of impending doom" he said.

"How so?" the one now known Chojuro asked.

"I don't know but I get the feeling that Mei-san has just learned something that will cause me a lot of grief in the future".

"Oh, okay then"

* * *

Back in Kohoha

After being given some clothes to replace her now ruined dress Mei was discharged from the hospital and set out to begin her search. She was currently walking down a street in Konoha carrying the swordsman's coat over her arm, her wearing a pair of blue jeans that hugged her curves and red t-shirt that struggled to contain her sizable bust, much to all the males in the areas delight and all the females displeasure, feeling envious of Mei's stunning figure. Normally Mei would be pleased with positive reaction she was garnering from the male populous but in light of recent events it only made her uneasy and uncomfortable with the attention she was getting. She shook her head to dispel the feeling of vulnerability and continued on her way. She spotted some kunoichi around her age walking into a small dango restaurant and decided that she should ask them about if they knew anything about him figuring someone as strong as her rescuer appeared to be must be a well known shinobi. And so she made her way over to the table they sat at.

"I'm sorry to bother you but I was wondering if you could help me find someone" she asked them.

"Sure thing Red, pull a chair" the one on the left said She had purple hair done in an upside down ponytail, pupiless brown eyes, a nice tan and breasts that were easily a D-cup, giving her an incredible figure which her provocative choice of attire did little to hide. She was wearing a beige trench coat over a fishnet bodysuit, an orange skirt, shin guards, much like the ones Mei usually wore and sandals. Her companion was equally stunning though her fashion sense was much more subdued. She had long, slightly wavy black hair that reached down to her mid-back with exotic red eyes, pale skin and full C-cup breasts. She was wearing a dress that seemed to be made of bandages with a single red sleeve.

"Anko, be nice" the dark haired one said. "Sorry about her, she tends to be a little bit hyperactive when she's getting dango. Anyway I'm Kurenai Yuuhi and my friend here is…"

"The Sexy and Single Anko Mitarashi at your service" Anko said, interrupting Kurenai with a shit eating grin on her face.

"Anko behave or no more dango" Kurenai scolded her with a glare.

"You're mean Nai-chan" Anko said crossing her arms and looking away with a childish pout on her face. Mei just sweat dropped watching the pair, well mostly Anko. "Anyway who are you looking for, Red" Anko asked while happily munching on a stick of dango she taken from a tray that had been put on the table during the introductions.

"Names Mei Terumi not Red" Mei said with a slight pout on her face. "And I'm looking for the man who saved me last night so I can thank him".

"What happened last night that meant you needed saving?" Kurenai asked, now intrigued by the red head's story. Mei then explained what befell her the night before, from the ambush to the deal she made with the Hokage.

"Well, I can see why you want to thank him for what he did but I don't know anyone in any shinobi who match his description, though it does sound familiar. Sorry about that" Kurenai said with a thoughtful and apologetic expression on her face.

"It's no trouble. Thanks for listening to me anyway" Mei replied sounding grateful yet slightly disappointed.

"Anko-chan do you know anyone who matches that description" Kurenai asked her friend who had been unusually quiet during her tale.

"I have a hunch but I need you to answer a question before I know for sure who he is" Anko answered with an uncharacteristically pensive look on her face. "You said that one of the attacks he used was an crescent moon shaped arc of black, rimmed red chakra from his blade while calling out its name".

"Yeah, so?" Mei asked impatiently, not really seeing the point.

"Can you remember what the name of the attack was?" Anko asked in very serious tone of voice. Kurenai gasped as a look of recognition settled on her face.

"You don't think it's _him _do you?" Kurenai asked her in the same serious tone of voice.

"I'm pretty sure it is. Now, do remember the name of the attack at all" Anko asked again.

"Yeah he yelled "GETSUGA TENSHO" and launched the attack" Mei said still not seeing the point.

"Yep that proves it. You were saved by a local legend here in Konoha" Anko said.

"Who is he?" Mei asked anxiously.

"No one knows" Anko replied. "Most people call him Zangetsu".

"Slaying Moon?" Mei asked.

"Yeah, he was named after his blade" Kurenai said. "Still I can't believe your going to meet him with the Hokage, you'll be the only other person to know who he besides, Jiraiya of the Sannin and Kakashi Hatake to know who is actually is".

"Hey do you want to come with me to Hokage Tower to meet him" Mei asked them.

"Are you serious?" Anko asked her excitedly.

"Yeah, after all I wouldn't know anything about him if you two hadn't helped me" Mei said smiling at her cheerful disposition.

"Thanks Mei-chan, you're the best" Anko said while hugging her.

"Yeah, thank you so much Mei-chan I've wanted to meet him for some time now" Kurenai said with stars in her eyes.

"Yeah, Nai-chan and Yu-chan are his biggest fans. Nai-chan here because of a seal he made for the kunoichi of Konoha that probably would have helped you last night and Yu-chan because of his sword and sword skills that supposed are on par with the Seven Shinobi Swordsman of your village, Kirigakure" Anko said

"Anko-chan, Yugao and I are not, have never been nor will we ever be fangirls" Kurenai said in a tone that promised slow and painful death if that was ever implied again. "Yugao-chan respects and admires him because of his skill in her favorite field, Kenjutsu. I admire him for what he did to effectively end every kunoichi's worst nightmare" she said in a tone that had traces of awe creeping into it.

"What do you mean?" Mei asked, confused.

"He essentially ended every kunoichi's worst nightmare by creating an anti-rape seal that can be used permanently drawn on the body or applied to body temporarily using ready made seal tags that last for up to six months" Kurenai explained in a voice full of respect and admiration with stars in her eyes.

"The more I hear about him, the more amazing he seems" Mei said, in awe of the legend known as Zangetsu.

"Yeah, I know. Hey, can we bring Yu-chan as well Mei-chan?" Anko asked excitedly.

"Sure, I don't see why not" Mei said smiling.

They quickly paid for their meals and left the restaurant for the Anbu HQ where Yugao worked. They caught up with her as she was walking out of the building. Yugao had pale skin, long purple hair, brown eyes and nice C-cup breasts. She was wearing Anbu issue black pants with a green t-shirt and had a katana sheathed over her right shoulder.

"Hey Anko-chan, Kurenai-chan who's your friend" Yugao asked upon seeing the beautiful redhead.

"Mei Terumi" Mei said with a warm smile.

"Yugao Uzuki" Yugao said returning the smile.

"Yu-chan you won't believe what who we're going to see thanks to Mei-chan" Anko said in an excited tone.

"Who Anko-chan" Yugao asked with a patient smile.

"Zangetsu" Anko answered her with a shit eating grin on her face.

"Where?" Yugao said with hearts in her eyes as she started looking frantically in every direction.

"Told you she was his biggest fan" Anko said with smirk while Mei just sweat dropped at the purple haired Anbu's behaviour. Once Yugao had calmed down they had explained situation from the ambush to the Sandaime's deal with Mei. Since it was close to noon they decided to head to Hokage Tower.

**AN: Well, that's chapter over and done with. I've decided to change the story to a small harem instead of a single pairing. Now it occurred to me that I never specified the Naruto and Mei's ages so here it is. The Rookie Nine are all 14 years old with the exception of Naruto who is 15 along with Team Gai and Yoruichi. Mei is 17, Kurenai, Yugao and Anko are 25. Now I will be using some of the Zanpakuto's from Bleach instead of the swords from Naruto along with one or two of my own creation as well because lets face it some of those Zanpakutos are pure badassery. Zabuza and Kisame are definitely going to be members of Naruto's Seven Shinobi Swordsmen because Zabuza was always one of my favorite Naruto villains and Kisame is a legend. Plus their swords are awesome as hell. I might put some Bleach characters in the harem and swordsmen as well. Feel free to send me a PM with suggestions for the harem and swordsmen.**

**Definite members of the Harem are as follows:**

**Mei**

**Yoruichi**

**Fem Kyuubi**

**Possible members include:**

**Fem Zangetsu**

**Rangiku Matsumoto**

**Orihime**

**Konan**

**Samui**

**However suggestions of Hinata, Ino or Sakura will ignored. I won't pair Hinata him with because she's too timid. It is a pairing I tolerate at best. Ino will be ignored because I never liked her as she seemed to be a shallow bitch most of the time although she has copped on a bit. This is pairing I will tolerate as well. I will not put him with Sakura because she was bitch to Naruto until after the Chunin exams and she still sucked major balls until Shippuden. In Shipudden she's a lot better but that does not make up for the fact that for around 200 episodes she 49% forehead, 49% fail and 2% pink.**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. A guy called Kishimoto does. I don't own Bleach either Some lucky chap called Tite owns that.

The Eighth Swordsman

Chapter 3

Naruto woke up on the floor of his apartment right bedside his bed. Why was he on the floor instead of the bed when he was right beside his bed you ask. It's because gravity, in its infinite wisdom decided to be a bitch to Naruto yet again and make him fall out of bed instead just letting wake up normally. "Fucking gravity" Naruto groaned as got up off the floor.

_'Are you okay Naruto-kun' _he heard a female voice in his head asked him. Before you ask, no Naruto wasn't crazy, okay maybe he was just a little bit crazy but that's not why he heard the voice. It came from Kyuu-chan or the Kyuubi No Kitsune as she is more commonly known.

_'Yeah that looked like it was pretty sore' _another female voice said to him. This was Zan-chan or Zangetsu, the spirit of Naruto's sentient blade.

'Yeah I am and it was but it's nothing too bad. I just wonder why gravity has to be such a bitch all the time though' he replied in an annoyed tone. He then went about his usual morning routine, a nice warm shower and a quick breakfast of some toast and peanut butter. It would probably surprise most people who thought they knew Naruto that he didn't constantly eat ramen. Which he did do when he was younger in fairness to them but that habit was soon knocked of him by Kyuubi and Zangetsu once they started training him.

Once he was finished his breakfast he got dressed in black combat boots, black combats with red flames along the sides, a red t-shirt with black flames licking the bottom and sleeves a kunai and shuriken pouch strapped to his left thigh, and he was also wearing his black metal gauntlet engraved with red seals from the night before on his left forearm and hand with a single black metal pauldron engraved with red seals on his left shoulder. He had Zangetsu strapped to his left hip and a combat knife sheathed on his right shoulder. The combat knife had a black hilt with grooves for his fingers and a blade made of black chakra conducting metal with red seals etched into it. (This will be Naruto's usual outfit.) He looked in the mirror and saw that his red slitted eyes, wild black hair, whisker marks and large canines gave him a wild feral appearance.

_'Well ladies what do you think?' _he asked them.

_'…'_

_'That good?' _he asked.

_'Yeah,'_ they both answered shakily, still dazed by his good looks.

_'So Naruto-kun, what do you think of the fight last night' _Kyuubi asked trying to distract herself so she wouldn't pull him into the mindscape and take him right then and there with Zangetsu probably helping her. They both knew the other was in love with Naruto and had no problem sharing him. Hell, they were looking forward to all the positions they could try together.

'The gauntlet worked pretty well and I've gotten shunpo down at last' Naruto replied sounding satisfied. The gauntlet was a project he had been working on for the last few months when he was wondering how he could use some of his more powerful jutsu in conjunction with Zangetsu. It basically used seals instead of handsigns in order to mold chakra for the jutsu. All he had to do was channel chakra into the one of the six designated slots he created and the corresponding jutsu would be launched from his palm. He had also been working on shunpo since one of his few friends in his age group showed it to him last week. He couldn't wait to show it to her.

_'I do hope Mei-chan is all right though, she's probably pretty shaken up right now though the old man should have sorted it out'_ Naruto thought worriedly.

_'Mei-chan? Aw does wittle Naru-chan have a crush?'_ Kyuubi teased.

_'Leave him be Kyuu-chan' _Zangetsu scolded her. Kyuubi merely stuck her tongue out at Zangetsu.

_'Why do you care Kyuu-chan, you know I love you and Zan-chan don't you?'_ he asked getting them both to blush. They both had yet to confess their feelings to him but were planning on doing so soon, in fact they planned to pull him into the mindscape the second he went to bed that very night. They both remembered when they met him and what made them fall for him all those years ago.

Flashback

_Naruto was in the hospital yet again after another beating. This one however was much worse than all the others, which in itself was disturbingly impressive when one takes into account the multitude of beatings he'd endured in his short life. This one had pushed him to his breaking point with an act that that made him fully understand what Kunoichi were afraid of when they were captured and they made him experience it first hand. It broke Sarutobi's heart to see him like that, the blond haired, blue eyed bundle of energy he though of as a surrogate grandson lying there, beaten and broken in an alleyway, semen leaking from his ass and covered in cuts, puncture wounds and fire and electrical burns. With a fury that many of his subordinates had not seen since the last war, he descended upon the mob like raging tempest, laying waste to those who had injured the boy he thought of as family as he was joined by his personal Anbu who all recognised the boy as the hero he was. Once they were finished with the mob the Sandaime stooped down to Naruto and picked him up. He and his guards disappeared in Shunshin and reappeared outside the hospital ward that Naruto usually stayed in after the beatings. His heart grew heavy as he made the seals necessary to open the room, wishing that all these measures weren't necessary to protect Naruto from those who were meant to heal him, not to try and assassinate him. He gently laid him on the bed and look at the mop of blood caked blond hair on the boy and felt a single tear fall from his eye as he looked at his former successor's legacy all the while appalled that the people of the village he had loved all his life would do this to this poor child._

_"Minato, Kushina I'm so sorry for failing your son like this" he said while looking at Naruto. He watched and waited as the red chakra surrounded the boy and healed him. The chakra was the only reason he was still alive, and yet it was also the reason he was in this condition in the first place. It was the chakra of the Kyuubi, the beast sealed within Naruto so the village could survive. And this was how they repaid him for his sacrifice, by making his life hell on earth. Hiruzen felt guilty for not telling him why the villagers hated him but knew he would do so when he was older, when he felt that Naruto could handle the knowledge of the demon sealed inside of him. Little did he know that Naruto was handling the knowledge admirably well as he met the Kyuubi inside his mindscape for the first time in his life._

_**Inside the seal**_

_Naruto woke up, soaked to the bone and all alone. 'So, it wasn't enough that they beat and raped me they had to throw me into a sewer as well. That's just fucking dandy' he said as he got up and looked around to get his bearings. He saw he was in a massive corridor with water that went up to his knees. There were also two pipes running along the ceiling, one a bloody and brilliant crimson, the other black as sin. He saw a there was an eerie red glow at one end of the tunnel and decided to go towards it, disregarding all the times he had heard someone say "don't go towards the light" as he had decided that if this was what life was going to be like until the day he died, he'd prefer it if that day came sooner rather than later._

_He soon came to an enormous gate with a small seal tag upon its large iron bars. He saw that the red glow was coming from the cage was about to go back the way he came when he heard the sound of someone sobbing. He sighed, even after all the shit he'd been through he couldn't walk away from someone who was in pain. Hell it was probably why he would always stry and help whenever he saw someone like that, he knew better than anyone what it was like to be left alone in your agony and wouldn't wish it on anyone. Okay, maybe some of the villagers but can you honestly fault him for that?_

_Once again disregarding common sense, he crept through the bars that were clearly meant to keep something in and him out towards the source of the sobs. Once he found the source, he cursed. It was even worse than he'd thought it would be. It was a girl huddled against a wall, curled up in a ball and crying, something he had always hated to see._

_"Excuse me Miss, what's wrong" he asked quietly, trying not to startle her. She jumped at the sound of his voice and he sighed. Mission accomplished captain. She turned with red puffy eyes and saw him before crying even harder, turning back around and trying curl into an even smaller ball. Naruto caught a glimpse of her beforehand and was stunned for a moment. She was a woman in her early twenties with long crimson hair that fell to her firm, round ass, matched by red slitted eyes, an angelic heart shaped face with red supple lips that begged to be kissed, smooth, pale skin and breasts that he estimated to be E-cups at the very least and looked so soft beneath the black kimono she was wearing that clung to her body showing off her incredible hour glass figure. He also noticed a black chain necklace with a sword pendant nestled into her ample bosom. Even an eight year old like Naruto could tell that this was an unearthly beauty not seen often in this world of ours._

_"I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry for what they did to you, it's all my fault" she said between sobs. Naruto was confused about that but disregarded it for the moment and decided to just comfort her like Hokage-Jiji would comfort him when he was upset. He sat down beside her and using suprising strength for a child his age lifted her up on to his lap and hugged her to his chest with one hand stroking her scarlet locks. She stiffened for a moment before snuggling further and crying into his chest. They simply sat there for a while, her crying and Naruto just holding her close and stroking her hair, whispering soothing things to her. Once she stopped he looked down at her kindly and asked her was she alright and she simply nodded._

_"Now what were you saying earlier?" he asked, still confused about her earlier statements. She sighed, knowing he would probably hate her after this and she would have to leave his arms, something she was not looking forward to, she had never felt so comfortable in all the centuries she had walked the Elemental Nations but knew that he of all people deserved the truth._

_"I said I was the cause for all the pain you've suffered and I know I don't deserve forgiveness but for what it's worth I'm truly sorry" she said moving out of his grasp and immediately missing his warmth._

_"You're the Kyuubi aren't you? he said in an emotionless tone, and even though it was more of a statement than a question. Naruto had known he was the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki for quite a while now. It wasn't hard to figure ouy as he had often been called "Kyuubi brat" or "fox brat" or the villager's personal favourite, "Demon" during his frequent beatings. Naruto noticed nine crimson, tipped black fox tails fanned out behind her and two crimson, tipped black fox ears atop her head as she nodded and despite the seriousness of the situation couldn't suppress the urge face palm, how in the hell could he have missed something like that, though the size of her breasts undoubtedly helped._

_"Why did you attack Konoha all those years ago?" he asked in that same emotionless voice._

_"What?" she asked, confused. She had expected him to scream, shout, attack her not ask her a question and she definitely didn't expect any questions that were asked to be done in such a civil manner._

_"Why did you attack Konoha? I ask you this as I want to know the whole story. I want to know if you were responsible for your actions that night, if they were justified, if you were forced to or if you did it just for the shits and giggles. I want to know because I know what it's liked to be judged based upon someone else's opinions and I need to know the full story before I make my decision and act upon it._

_And so Kyuubi showed him the night of his birth through her memories, how he was the son of the Yondaime, Minato Namikaze and her previous container, Kushina Uzumaki, how she was freed from the seal and immediately taken control of by her ancient nemesis, Madara Uchiha, how he was temporarily defeated by Minato and escaped, how Kushina died from the strain of childbirth and having her Biju extracted and how Minato sacrificed his life to seal her within Naruto so he be able to protect her from Madara and have the strength needed to defeat Madara when he next reared his ugly head._

_"Well your right, I will never forgive you" he said and Kyuubi felt her heart shatter at his words. "Because there is nothing to forgive"he finished in a warm tone of voice._

_Kyuubi looked up at his face, and saw him smiling kindly at her as she felt her heart reform and start to warm up._

_"But I ruined your life, I'm the reason you went through all that" she said in disbelief, not daring to hope that he had forgiven her for her sins._

_"My dear, did you want to be controlled by Madara, did you want the villagers to treat me as they have?" he asked her._

_"No" she said while shaking her head frantically._

_"Exactly" he said with another warm smile. Madara was the one who ruined my life and the stupidity of the villagers and their inability to differentiate the kunai from the scroll is the reason they treat me as they do so do not feel guilty and blame yourself for things beyond your control"._

_"Thank you so much" she said while hugging him once more and relishing the feeling of his arms around her, happiness radiating off her as she accepted the fact that he bore no ill will towards her despite the hardships he had endured._

_"Your very mature for your age you know that" she said once she calmed down._

_"I know, I had to be" he said with a sad smile._

_"Anyway can you tell why you have a daito pendant?" he asked, curiosity getting the better of him._

_"Wait you can see that?" she asked, shocked that he could the dormant form of Zangetsu, the sentient blade of her creator/father the Rikodou Sennin. The blade used to halt the Juubi so the he could seal it within himself becoming the first Jinchuuriki. The blade that was named Zangetsu or Slaying Moon, to recognise it's part in the Juubi's defeat and the fate of the its body. The blade entrusted to her by her father upon her creation to be given to the one she and Zangetsu's spirit deemed worthy to wield the blade. The blade that her father told her could only be seen by those with the potential to bring peace to this world as he himself had. She conversed with Zangetsu for a moment and she agreed. Kyuubi would give Naruto the blade and see if he could manifest it's true form along the spirit of the sword to show that Naruto had determination and heart needed to wield her._

_"It's not a pendant, it's the dormant form of my father's blade" she replied._

_"Who's your father?" Naruto asked curious about his tenant's past._

_"The Rikodou Sennin" she replied simply._

_"You've got to be shitting me" he said in disbelief. "Wasn't he just a myth?"._

_"Nope" she said simply and told him of the Rikodou Sennin himself, a monk who taught the world Ninjutsu and preached of peace between men. How he defeated the Juubi and sealed it within himself. How once he realised that the Juubi would be released upon his death he split its chakra into nine pieces, creating the Biju. And the she explained the sword's role in the fight and the test he was about to undertake. He simply had to channel chakra into the blade._

_Naruto nodded, that seemed simple enough and took the pendant into his hand and channeled his chakra within in it. Kyuubi watched him carefully as he did so and gasped as she saw his chakra flare around him. It was incredibly large and potent for his age, in a couple of years it could surpass the chakra of the Sannin combined. But that wasn't what shocked her, what shocked her was the colour. It was black as raven's feather. She hadn't seen chakra in that colour since the Sage himself. Though it differed slightly as it was red rimmed which she guessed was due to her influence on his chakra coils since his birth. It suddenly swirled around him in a maelstrom of power before exploding outwards, an action that was mirrored in the real world as it left two figures behind. The first was obviously Naruto though his appearance had quite a bit. His once spiky blond hair was now coal black and fell to his shoulders and ocean blue eyes were now a bloody scarlet with slitted pupils, mirrors of the Kyuubi's own. He also had a full sized version of the blade on the pendant in his right hand. The other figure was a woman who looked to be in her early twenties in a ruby red kimono, with long, black hair that reached to her mid back with onyx orbs and full, supple lips on a heart shaped face and tanned, smooth skin. Her bust rivaled the Kyuubi's own, E-cups and her ass was just as firm and well shaped. She looked like she could be Kyuubi's twin as she possessed the same unearthly aura that he Kyuubi did._

_"Kyu-chan" the newcomer exclaimed before tackle hugging Kyuubi,_

_"It's nice to see you too Zan-chan" Kyuubi said to her old friend as she hugged her back._

_Naruto meanwhile was valiantly albeit futilely trying to suppress a nose bleed at the sight of the two buxom beauties before him hugging. Said beauties noticed this and identical vulpine smirks crossed each face and they nodded to each other before disappearing. Naruto looked around, confused as to where they went before feeling his two large and incredibly soft mounds one each side of his head. He looked up at the two and saw the identical smirks as his head was nestled in a true Valley of the Heavens._

_"We're sorry to have left you out Na-ru-to-kun" they both purred, their voices forming a seductive harmony no man could resist. Now it must be said that, to Naruto's credit he managed to last a solid ten seconds before the natural reaction of any heterosexual male to such a sight and stimulus. He rocketed upwards in a massive nosebleed and passed out with a shit eating grin on his face. His last thought you ask 'They'll be the death of me, but what a way to go'._

_Naruto woke up to the sound of giggling and saw that the source was Kyuubi and Zangetsu, and was annoyed, no doubt the giggling was at his expense. He was lying with his head on both their laps and glared at them. A glare ruined by the grin threatening to tear his head in half._

_"Sorry about that Naruto-kun but we couldn't resist" they both said and Naruto relented as it probably was damn funny._

_"So you're Zangetsu then" he said with a smile. "Names Naruto Uzumaki"_

_"I know" she replied. "You're all Kyuu-chan talks about. She has quite the …" Zangetsu was silenced by Kyuubi's hand over her mouth. Kyuubi then squealed as she felt something wet and slippery run along her palm._

_"You licked me "she yelled at Zangetsu who merely shrugged her shoulders and sent her look that said if you don't me to lick you then don't put your hand over my mouth._

_"Now Naruto-kun would you like us to train you" Zangetsu asked all playfulness gone from her voice as it took on a more serious quality to it._

_"What do you mean?" he asked her._

_"If you want us to, I will train you as a swordsman and Kyuubi will train you as a ninja". It will…" Zangetsu was cut off as she and Kyuubi were gathered into a hug by the dark haired Jinchuuriki._

_"Of course I want you to" he exclaimed hugging them._

_"Are you sure about this, this training will be hell" Zangetsu warned but she already knew his answer, knew he that wouldn't, knew that he _couldn't_ back down, after all he was the first person since the sage who had proved themselves worthy to wield her._

_"Bring it on" he told her with a smirk._

_Flashback End_

They both truly fell for him that day. Zangetsu for his iron will and Kyuubi for his kindness. Though it took some time to realize the extent of their infatuation with the swordsman and even more to build up their courage for the confession they were planning for tonight. Both were also looking forward to the reactions of his classmates when he showed up without his mask.

Naruto locked the door, applied a quick henge so he could walk along the streets without getting to much hassle and headed for the academy, unaware of how important this day would be. This day would truly mark the beginning of his journey. The dawn of a new era. The Rise Of The Eighth Swordsman.

**AN: Alright chapter three done. Certain parts of this one were an absolute bitch to write so I hope you all enjoy this chapter and I would like to thank you for your suggestions for the harem. A lot of you want Kurenai, Yugao and Anko in the harem and I'm sorry but I already have plans for them but the vast majority of you want at least one of them in the harem so I'll relent a bit. I plan to have six girls in the harem. The last two are undecided but one of them will be from bleach and the other from Naruto and keep in mind both of them be will members of the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen.**

**The confirmed members of the harem are as follows;**

**Fem Kyuubi**

**Fem Zangetsu**

**Yoruichi Shihouin**

**Mei Terumi**

**The possible options for the girl from Naruto include**

**Yugao Uzuki**

**Kurenai Yuuhi**

**Samui**

**Konan**

**Tayuya**

**Fem Haku**

**The possible options for the girl from Bleach include**

**Nemu Kurotsuchi**

**Rangiku Matsumoto**

**Orihime Inoue**

**Feel free to make suggestions and vote for the harem in reviews and I will take them into account as to who you want the last two girls to be. Another question I want to ask you all is to whether you want Sasuke and Sakura to be bashed or not. I intend to bash them but I won't do it severely if enough people are against it. Just as a heads up the next chapter will be the graduation exam and the one after will the when Mei meets Naruto. I should also let you know Naruto will be getting a bloodline and I'll give you two clues about it. It will not be a doujutsu and is very rarely used in Naruto fanfiction as far as I can see. **

**Edited: 13 June 2013**


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. A guy called Kishimoto does. I don't own Bleach either Some lucky chap called Tite owns that.

The Eighth Swordsman

Chapter 4

Once Naruto was outside the door of his classroom in the academy he dispelled the henge and grinned, he had really been looking forward to dropping this mask of his. A mask created on the recommendation of the Sandaime once he was informed of the truth surrounding the events that took place on the night Naruto was born and the training he was to receive from Kyuubi and Zangetsu so he would be safe from the elders and civilian council who would no doubt call for his death if word reached their ears of the "Demon" growing stronger. A mask that depicted him as a happy, go lucky idiot in an orange monstrosity of a jumpsuit who had a crush on a pink-haired banshee. Ugh, every time he said "Sakura-chan" he threw up a little bit in his mouth and every time she hit him it took all of his considerable will power not to all out Kyuubi on her ass. He was looking forward to being able to put her bitch ass back in place. He thought for a second on how to make an entrance before giving a feral grin and deciding on a classic.

Inside the classroom the young aspiring shinobi were talking excitedly about possible missions they would have once they graduated, and who would be on their teams. Some were under the idiotic illusion of saving princesses and defeating evil tyrants right off the bat once out of the academy and the weak and useless who would most likely die on their first C-Rank (A/N: Fangirls, scourge of the shinobi world) had actually managed to delude themselves that their precious "Sasuke-sama" would save them. It would be funny if it wasn't so pathetic. Fuck it, it was still funny. And then there were the clan heirs who had an inkling of what the shinobi lifestyle was actually like from their parents and were passing the time as they usually did in class. Kiba bragging with Akamaru barking in agreement, Shikamaru sleeping, Choji eating, Hinata worrying, Shino doing whatever Shino actually does, and then there was Sakura and Ino, fawning over the Uchiha who was brooding by the window as he often did.

Everyone was disturbed from their activities by a loud bang caused by the door being kicked open and smoke moving in, obscuring, the man standing in the doorway, before he walked in. The class took in his appearance, he was tall, about 5ft 10 with wild shoulder length black hair and red slitted eyes wearing black combats with red flames along the sides, black combat boots, a red t-shirt decorated with black flames licking the bottom and sleeves, a black pauldron and a black gauntlet on his left shoulder and forearm, a kunai and shuriken pouch on his left thigh, a black combat knife sheathed on his right shoulder and a black daito strapped to his left hip using as simple black sash. The pauldron, gauntlet, knife and sword were engraved with red seals. They then noticed his most important feature, three whisker marks on each cheek and gasped, except for one who merely smirked.

"Looking good Naruto-kun" Yoruichi Shihouin remarked with a light blush on her face after taking stock of his appearance. "Nice entrance too, a bit cliché but the smoke was a nice touch".

"Thanks Yoruichi-chan, you're not looking too bad yourself and it isn't a cliché, it's a classic" Naruto replied.

"Thanks and fair point" she said, blushing from the complement. Yoruichi was a dark skinned girl of average height and slender build with long purple hair she usually kept in a ponytail and bright golden eyes. She had nice and perky C-cup breasts, a full and firm ass with long, toned legs that seemed to go on forever. She was wearing a black, backless, sleeveless under-shirt, an orange over-shirt with two white straps on each shoulder, a large beige sash around her waist, black stretch pants and a pair of lightweight brown shoes. She had a kunai pouch strapped to her left thigh. She was Naruto's best friend and heir of the near extinct Shihouin clan. The Shihouin clan was famous in Konoha for their taijutsu skills, speed and strength. They were heavily hit during the Third Shinobi World War with only Yoruichi's mother and father surviving. Her father died on a mission when she was three and her mother fell to illness when she was five, leaving her as a ward of the Hokage just like Naruto. Naruto met her when the Sandime decided to take them both to the park one day. They became fast friends and always hung out and trained with each other. When they were twelve Naruto decided to tell her about the Kyuubi and Zangetsu.

Flashback

_"Hey Naru-kun what's wrong?" she asked as the both lay on the Yondaime's head looking at the stars. She worried about her unusually quiet blond friend. Naruto sighed and figured now was as good a time as any to tell her the truth about him._

_"Yoru-chan, have you ever noticed the way the villagers look at me" he asked in a serious tone as he sat up and looked at her._

_"Yeah" she replied nervously as she sat up as well and met his gaze with her own, she always wanted to ask him why they looked at him with such hatred but could never build up enough courage to ask him._

_"Tell me, what you know about the night the Kyuubi attacked" he asked her._

_"Only that the Yondaime killed it at the cost of his own life" she said, unsure of where this was going._

_"Yoru-chan, you can't kill a biju, they are immortal masses of sentient chakra. The Yondaime defeated the Kyuubi by sealing it into his son at the cost of his soul, making him a jinchuuriki(power of human sacrifice). A son who was spited for his sacrifice by the villagers who thought he was just some clanless orphan. They saw him not as the container but the contained" he said bitterly._

_"How do you know about all this Naru-kun?" she asked._

_"Yoru-chan, take away my whisker marks and who do I look like?" he asked. She gasped as it hit her. Naruto was the spitting image of a chibi-Yondaime._

_"You're his son aren't you" she said quietly._

_"Yeah" he replied quietly as his heart hammered in his chest waiting for her reaction. If she treated like the rest of the villagers he didn't know what he'd do, he'd probably break. She was his closest friend, closer than the Ichirakus or even the old man._

_"Well that's bullshit" she said simply._

_"What?" he asked, startled._

_"It's bullshit that they treat you like that when it's obvious that you're not the kunai but the scrolls that holds it" she elaborated._

_"So you don't think I'm a demon?" he asked her in obvious disbelief._

_"Of course not" she chirped happily. "You're my Naru-kun, your sweet and kind and determined and besides you're too cute to be a demon" she said with a light blush that was matched by Naruto's own._

_He then told her the truth about Kyuubi's attack and about Kyuubi and Zangetsu._

_"Take that you sexist assholes" she whooped when she found out that Kyuubi, the most powerful being in existence, was a girl as was Zangetsu. Naruto merely sweat dropped at that while Kyuubi and Zangetsu held up their hands up in victory. She also winced as she heard about the stuff they both made him do as training though, even Guy would think it was a bit much._

_And of course, once she learned about the henge she demanded that he show her what he actually looked like with those damnable puppy dog eyes that Naruto never was able to resist. She blushed as she saw his red slitted eyes and wild black hair. It suited him a lot more than the blond hair and blue eyes that she already thought were pretty cute._

Flashback end

Naturally and unfortunately for those who liked to keep their ear drums intact Sakura was the first to recover from the shock.

"Naruto-baka, stop trying to look cool and show up Sasuke-kun so go back to normal" she screeched at him using that lovely voice the Haruno clan known for.

"This is normal, the blond idiot you all knew and tolerated was a mere mask created on the Hokage's orders and who the fuck do you think you are ordering me around?" he said.

Everyone gasped at this, Sakura included, wasn't Naruto head over heels in love with her? Yourichi smirked, she had been looking forward to this for years. She always got pissed when she saw that pink bitch hit her man. Well he wasn't her man yet but he would be soon enough if she had anything to say about the matter.

Now Sakura, being the dumbass that she is decided to try and put him back in his place as she thought she did so many times before by charging towards him with her fist cocked back so she could put as much non-existent power in her punch as possible. Keep in mind that I did say try. Naruto saw it coming from a mile away, it was like she was moving in slow motion. He caught her punch easily before twisting her arm and holding it behind her back with his combat knife pressed to her throat.

"Haruno, I'm going to say this one time and one time only so listen carefully lest I carve this message into your worthless flesh. If you attempt to lay a hand on me again I will remove the offending limb and turn it into a suppository. Am I understood?" he said in a venomous tone. Sakura was shaking, too afraid of him to answer, hell she was even too scared to piss herself.

"Am. I. Understood?" he asked once again, impatience creeping into his voice. She merely nodded, still not able too speak.

"Good" he said happily with an eyesmile. "Now, get out of my sight" he said as he pushed away from her and she fell. She scrambled to her feet and ran from him, hiding behind Sasuke, much to the emo's displeasure. Naruto simply continued up towards up towards his usual seat by the window next to Yoruichi, whistling happily as he ignored the stares and joined her. She smirked as she saw the grin threatening to split his face in half.

"Enjoy it that much?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"Even more so" he said, still grinning. "It's kind of like an itch, the longer you leave it the more satisfying it is to scratch".

After a couple of minutes the atmosphere of the class went back to normal bar the looks being sent to Naruto every five minutes as he chatted with Yoruichi. Eventually Iruka and Mizuki showed up and the class began settle. Iruka took attendance with each student answering "Here" except for the emo who answered with his trademark "Hn".

"Naruto Uzumaki" Iruka called out, looking up from the scroll.

"Here Iruka-sensei" Nruto answered still grinning. Mizuki caught sight of him and glared at him as he took in his new appearance and was about to say something before Iruka interrupted him.

"So, you finally decided to drop that mask of yours" Iruka said with a grin.

"You knew?" Naruto asked, surprised.

"Yep, Hokage-sama told me a few years ago" he said.

"Fair enough" Naruto said though everyone could hear him mutter about "crafty old man".

"Anyway now that everyone is present we can begin the written stage of the graduation exam" he said. Mizuki handed out the papers and Naruto noticed the malicious grin on his face as he got one. He looked at his paper and sighed at the genjutsu cast on it. He didn't know whether to be angry at the bastard for setting him up or insulted at the fact that it was done so shitly, maybe his mask had been too effective. He quickly dispelled the genjutsu and got on with the test. Forty-five minutes later he finished, sighing at how easy it was and laying down his head on the desk and talking with his two tenants. Forty-five minutes later Iruka collected the papers.

"Alright next up are accuracy tests, everyone head out to the kunai and shuriken range and line up" he said and the class headed out. "You have ten kunai and ten shuriken each and must aim for vital points. You will be scored out of ten in each weapon giving you an overall score out of twenty. You need twelve to pass. The class took their shots, civilian children averaging around twelve and the clan heirs around fifteen. Sasuke scored eighteen much to the delight of his fangirls, whose cheers further inflated his already oversized ego. Which then took a well deserved hit as Yourichi went after him and scored nineteen shutting up his fangirls much to the delight of everyone else.

"I love you, you know that" Naruto said to her afterwards as she sat down beside him under the shade of an oak tree causing a blush to spread across her face.

"Naruto Uzumaki, your up" Iruka called out. Naruto nodded as he got up and went over to the range. He took a deep breath, chose his targets and launched five shuriken from each hand. He repeated the process with the kunai and sat back down next to Yoruichi who rested her head on his shoulder. Some of the class started laughing as they saw none of his targets had kunai or shuriken in them.

"Nice job dobe" Sasuke said with a smirk, feeling better after seeing the dobe fail.

"Yeah, good job Naruto-kun, you're the first to get twenty out of twenty since Itachi Uchiha" Iruka complemented. Sakura decided now would be a good time to open that huge mouth of hers.

"What do you mean Iruka-sensei, none of Naruto-baka's kunai or shuriken are in the targets" she asked.

"You're right Sakura, though that's because they went straight through the targets and hit the wall" he answered her. The class looked and saw that he was right as they saw small holes in each of his targets of vital points and the kunai and shuriken that made them were deeply embedded into the wall.

"You know for a member of clan that prided themselves on their eyes you're not that observant now are you Sasuke-chan?" Naruto said with a smirk while Yoruichi laughed at him, soon joined by the other clan heirs. Sasuke seethed at this but decided he'd get the dobe back later. Yeah, right.

"Next up is taijutsu. Everyone will spar with Mizuki and I for five minutes and try to either land a solid hit or last the full five minutes. No ninjutsu or genjutsu are allowed" Iruka announced. The civilian children were barely able to last the full five minutes and not a single one of them landed a hit on their senseis. The clan heirs faired much better, each of them landing a hit within three minutes apart Sakura who just collapsed after the five minutes having not even come close to hitting Iruka who just shook his head as he looked at her. Sasuke manage to land a hit on Mizuki at one minute twenty-seven seconds as Mizuki "accidentally" left his guard wide open giving Sasuke an easy chance to slip in with a right hook. Yoruichi was at fifty-nine seconds when she caught Iruka off guard with a leg sweep that knocked him flat on his ass.

"Naruto, it's your turn. You'll be sparring against Mizuki" Iruka told him after Yourichi helped him back up. Naruto nodded as he stood and faced Mizuki. looking forward to kicking his ass. Mizuki smirked as he ran at Naruto at mid chunin speeds without signaling the start of the match. Naruto gave a feral grin that unnerved Mizuki slightly as he watched his idiotic charge, he was far too slow, while to the rest of the class save a few he became a blur. _"Looks like someone is eager for an ass kicking" _he thought to himself with a smirk. He easily batted Mizuki's right hook away with his left forearm before his right hand shot up like a rocket, nailing the chunin on the chin with a solid uppercut that lifted him up off the ground. Naruto then jumped up and snapped out his right leg as he roundhouse kicked the chunin in the stomach while he was still airborne, sending him flying until he got nice and acquainted with the wall, spider web cracks spreading from where he hit it.

Everyone just stared at him as he landed back on the ground. He grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.

"Sorry about that, I guess I got a little bit too excited" he said while everyone else just sweat dropped.

"W-well done Naruto, you knocked Mizuki out in ten seconds" Iruka said in disbelief. _"I know Hokage-sama said he was holding back but damn, didn't think it was this much"_ he thought to himself before shaking his head and deciding to get on with the next test.

"Okay next up is the ninjutsu portion of the exam. Everyone must be able to perform a henge of the Sandaime, a kawarimi and at least three bushin. If you have another justu you wish to use, you may do so at the end of the test for extra credit" he said.

The students all went through the assorted jutsus without much trouble with some making more bushin than necessary like Sasuke with making five and yoruichi with seven.

Once again it was Naruto's turn and he preformed well with the first two jutsu, turning into the Sandaime easily and then substituting with Yoruichi who bowed to the class with a grin before he kawarimi'd back to the front of the class, returning her to her seat.

"Iruka-sensei, can I use a kage bushin instead of a regular bushin" he asked and sighed with relief when Iruka nodded.

"Why can Naruto to perform a different jutsu from the rest of us Iruka-sensei?" Sakura asked not adding the baka that she so wanted to as she still terrified of his threat.

"It's simply because he has to much chakra to use a regular bushin. He would need chakra control on par with Tsunade herself to perform that jutsu. Without it, it would like trying to fill a thimble with a fire hose. The kage bushin is a more chakra intensive version of the basic bushin and therefore Naruto is able to perform it" Iruka explained and gave Naruto the go ahead upon seeing the class nod their heads in understanding.

"Kage bushin no justsu" he shouted and a large cloud of smoke appeared obscuring Naruto and whatever clones he had made.

The smoke soon cleared leaving forty-one Narutos standing there including the original, matching grins on each face.

"W-well done Naruto" he said a little surprised that he was able to make that many without breaking sweat, Iruka would be on his last legs after making that many clones but figured it was because Naruto was a jinchuuriki.

"Thanks Iruka-sensei" he said with a grin as he dispelled his clones and went back up to his seat.

"All right, those of you who have other jutsu, you may demonstrate them now" he said.

Unsurprisingly the clan heirs were the only ones with other jutsu, mainly clan techniques.

Sasuke used Katon: Goukakyuu (Fire Style: Grand Fireball), launching a human sized fireball at the academy dummy, burning it severely.

Naruto was the last one up and he could feel everyone staring at him, expecting him to do something amazing yet again. They weren't disappointed.

Naruto decided to use one of his favourite Katon jutsu. He raised up his left arm and an orb of red fire gathered in his palm. Some of the fangirls laughed, seeing how small it was compared to Sauke's fireball, to which Sasuke smirked.

"Katon: Shakkaho (Fire Style: Red Flame Cannon)" he called out and the orb flew from his hand to the target, exploding on contact and leaving nothing but ash behind, silencing all laughter.

Surprisingly enough, Shikamaru was the first to speak, what he said however, was not so surprising.

"Why must you be so damn troublesome Naruto?" he asked him.

"Why not? It amuses me and that's as good a reason as any" he said with a foxy grin. "And why didn't you complain earlier?" he asked, curious.

"Because I wanted to make sure you had no more surprises. It would've been too much effort to complain twice" he said.

"Lazy bastard" Naruto muttered with a smirk. "And what makes you think that was the last surprise I have" he asked with a grin.

"Troublesome bastard' Shikamaru muttered.

"Everone back inside" Iruka said and the class followed him inside the classroom. "Alright everyone, I'm about to announce the Rookie and Kunoichi of the Year" Iruka said.

This caught everyone's attention. It even stopped Sasuke's brooding as sat forward in his seat to hear his name called out (AN: We all know that that's not gonna happen).

"First of all the Kunoichi of the Year is Yoruichi Shihouin" Iruka said. Nobody was surprised at that as she had consistently been at top in the academy in everything, especially taijutsu.

"I wouldn't expect anything less" Naruto said with a proud smile on his face as he looked at her.

"Thanks Naruto-kun" she said with a smile.

"Rookie of the Year is…" Iruka paused for dramatic effect "Naruto Uzumaki".

Immediately there was an uproar from the Sasuke fangirls about how their Sasuke-sama couldn't lose to the dobe.

"It seems like he just did though, doesn't it" Yoruichi said with a smirk.

"Iruka, I demand you name me Rookie of the Year. I deserve it, not the dobe" Sasuke said in that arrogant tone of his.

"Sasuke, Naruto beat you so try to accept it graciously" Iruka said trying to shut the him up.

"Sasuke, if you want it so bad you can fight me for it" Naruto told him with a feral grin.

"You're on dobe" Sasuke replied arrogantly, sure he couldn't lose to the dobe, irregardless of the fact that said dobe just dropped a chunin in ten seconds with two hits. They both walked out into the sparring ground and faced each other, the class forming a ring around them.

Sasuke started the fight, launching a kunai at Naruto who easily dodged before closing the distance between them and slamming his fist into the emo's stomach. Sasuke gasped as the air left before trying to slam his closed fist onto Naruto's back but was too slow as Naruto caught his wrist and swung him by it into a nearby tree. Sasuke groaned as he got up and charged at Naruto, aiming for his stomach with a kick. Naruto easily sidestepped before thrusting his palm into Sasuke's chest with devastating power. Sasuke was launched backwards and hit the wall. He tried to get back up, but stopped when he felt sharp, cold steel pressed against his neck.

"This little spar of ours is over Sasuke-chan. I win, you lose" Naruto said dismissively as he re-sheathed his knife and walked away from him.

Sasuke seethed at how easily Naruto kicked his ass and dismissed him. Just like _him. _Sasuke saw red at this as he flew threw the handsigns needed to show the dobe his power. The power of the Uchiha.

"Katon: Goukakyuu (Fire Style: Grand Fireball)" he called out with a manic glint in his eye as he sent the fireball towards Naruto.

"NARUTO LOOK OUT" Yoruichi screamed at him but it was too late. Her warning only gave him enough time to turn around and widen his eyes before the flames consumed him.

Chapter End.

Nah, I'm just fucking with ya.

Back to the story.

Sasuke laughed as he saw his attack hit the dobe, only to stop when he heard a voice join his in laughter. He quickly looked for the source and found it, much to his horror. It was coming from the raging fire that he killed the dobe with.

Or so he thought.

The fire shot outwards as it was hit by a pulse of chakra, leaving an unharmed Naruto behind. Naruto then disappeared, and Sasuke felt something hit the back of his neck before the darkness claimed him.

Naruto regarded the Uchiha before him for a moment before throwing him to his fangirls, and action he felt bad about despite the fact that the fucker just tried to kill him.

He started towards the class before he was glomped by a purple blur. He looked down to see Yoruichi hugging him.

"You finally got shunpo down" she congratulated him, trying to blink away the unshed tears she had when she thought that the flames had killed him so Naruto wouldn't notice.

"Yep" he said happily, deciding to ignore the tears for now as he let go of her , missing the look of disappointment that flew across her face for a moment.

"So, how was it?" she asked him.

"How was what?" he asked back.

"Putting Sakura in her place and kicking both Mizuki's and Sasuke's asses" she said.

"In-fucking-credible. I haven't had so much fun since we pranked the Hyuugas last year" he said with a shit eating grin on his face.

"Naruto are you alright" Iruka asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm alright" he answered. "Can't say the same for the teme though".

"Don't worry about that, I'll report it to the Hokage" Iruka said.

"Thanks Iruka-sensei" he said.

"Alright this spar has proven Naruto is the Rookie of the Year. Now everyone please grab your hitai-ate from the desk on your way out. Team placements will be in a week" he said.

Naruto grabbed a black one and tied it around his waist, as did Yoruichi on their way out. Once he was outside he reluctantly reapplied his henge.

"Hey Naruto-kun want to head to Ichiraku's for lun…" Yoruichi's sentence was interuptered be the arrival of an Anbu.

"Nauto-san, Hokage-sama would like to speak with you about something" the Anbu said.

Naruto sighed and nodded.

"I'n sorry Yoruichi-chan but I'll have to take a rain check" he said to her.

"It's ok, just tell me about the meeting later" she said to him.

"No problem" he replied before the Anbu grabbed him and they both disappeared in a swirls of leaves,

**AN: Chapter Four done. Sorry for the delay but I've been busy and will continue to be busy. The next update will probably be in mid February. Anyway for the harem the last two members have been decided. It's gonna be Rangiku and Samui. Also please let me know in reviews how the fight scenes were, small I know but I'll work on it. Also about the bloodline, it was never said if it was an actual bloodline in Naruto and not just a unique ability and wasn't inherited by the user's children which is complete bullshit in my opinion because it's cool as hell. See ya.**

**Edited: 13 June 2013**


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. A guy called Kishimoto does. I don't own Bleach either Some lucky chap called Tite owns that.

The Eighth Swordsman

Chapter 5

"When is he gonna get here, I need Dango?" Anko whined as she, Kurenai, Mei and Yugao waited with the Sandaime for Zangetsu to arrive. They were all surprised that it didn't take too much persuasion from Mei to get the Hokage to agree with the others meeting. Hiruzen was inwardly laughing though. This day just got better and better.

"He should be along shortly Anko-chan, he should have just finished up some important business" the Sandaime answered. "And didn't you just come from the Dango shop?" he asked.

"What's your point?" she said leading to a mass sweat drop from everyone in the room.

"Never mind" he muttered.

A knock on the door was heard.

"Enter" Hiruzen said.

"Hokage-sama I brought the boy as you asked" and Anbu said as he walked in followed by a kid. He looked around fourteen and a bit on the short side with spiky blond hair, eyes that shone like sapphires, three faint whisker marks on each cheek.

"Thank you Tora, you may leave now" Hiruzen said dismissing the Anbu.

"So Hokage-jiji, what did you want? Yoruichi-chan and I were gonna head to Ichiraku's to celebrate" Naruto said, not really noticing the room's other occupants.

"I just wanted to congratulate you on graduating as Rookie of the Year Naruto-kun" Hiruzen said in an innocent tone betrayed by the mischievous glint in his eye.

"Oh, well thanks old man" he said, that familiar look in the old man's eyes slightly unnerved him. It looked far too much like the one that was often found in his own as he watched a prank unfold.

"Nice job gaki" Anko congratulated him.

"Thanks Miss" he said, looking at the room's other occupants, eyes widening slightly as they found Mei's own. _"Fuck my life" _he mentally groaned.

Mei was trying to remember where she knew this boy from, he looked very familiar yet she knew he never met him before this day. It was something about the way he held himself and his face with those little whisker marks that just screamed kawai.

Naruto meanwhile was cursing up a storm in his mind about the old man revealing him to Mei and even worse Kurenai and Yugao. He didn't mind Anko knowing, she probably couldn't give a shit either way. Now don't get me wrong he had nothing against any of them, in fact he had nothing but respect for Kurenai, he felt a sort of kinship with Anko, a fellow pariah and loved Yugao like a sister. She was his "Neko-neechan" as he had affectionately called her when he was younger. There were three main reasons why he didn't want to be revealed right now.

1: He didn't want certain people (Danzo, the civilian council) to know how strong he was. The hassle wasn't worth the looks on their faces… Ok it might be but still deception was a shinobi greatest asset. At least that's what he told himself when he was really bored and tempted to let the truth out to cause a ruckus.

2: He didn't want to deal with assholes (Sasuke) demanding training from him, his inventions, his jutsu arsenal and his Zangtetsu-chan. There was no way in hell anyone like that emo bitch would taint her with their hands as long as he had breath in his body. Zangestu couldn't help but get excited at that. She loved it when he was like that, so protective, so _possessive_.

3: And this group was the one in which Kurenai and Yugao belonged. The admirers. These were not fangirls mind you as they were perfectly capable of kicking your ass if you so much as thought that. The ladies in question were perfect examples of that fact. They did however look up to him, mainly due to the anti-rape seal and his skills with the blade. The sense of mystery he built around himself didn't hurt the attraction either.

And so he'd put a great deal of effort into ensuring that he was in fact a damn mystery so no one could find out it was actually him. Now all that effort was going to be a waste. He knew shouldn't have fucked with the old man's Icha Icha but it was too damn funny at the time. His expression was priceless.

"Naruto-kun please drop the henge now, we both know it's only a matter of time before everyone finds out" Hiruzen said he calmly, inwardly however, there was a chibi-Hiruzen doing a victory dance, happy in the knowledge that there was no way the brat could out maneuver him this time.

"Alright but have the Anbu leave the room. They can find out later" he said. Hiruzen nodded and dismissed the Anbu.

"Before I do this I just want you to know you're an ass for doing this to me" Naruto said.

"I know, but my precious must be avenged" Hiruzen said solemnly to which Naruto sweat dropped and mumbled about "pervy old men holding grudges when they shouldn't".

And so Naruto released the henge there a collective gasp from the ladies in the room.

"Ladies, may I introduce to you Naruto Uzumaki, or as you may know him, the ever infamous Zangetsu" Hiruzen said while chuckling at the looks on their faces with Naruto joining him. It may have been at his expense but it was still damn funny.

Yugao's jaw was on the floor joined by Kurenai's, Anko looked torn between calling bullshit and laughing at how well Naruto played the entire village, herself included.

Yugao couldn't believe that the boy she used to protect in her early days in Anbu was Zangetsu, the fearsome swordsman who came out of nowhere about a year ago. Her little brother owed her a kenjutsu spar one of these days. She was also delighted that she now has someone to spar with besides Hayate-kun. She could ask Konoha's only other kenjutsu master but she wasn't that comfortable asking to spar with people she didn't know.

Kurenai was also stunned that Naruto, the Prankster King, the dobe of the academy, was Zangetsu, the man who had made the seal that made him a hero in her eyes. She sure as hell hadn't seen that coming.

As for Anko, she was happy to know who Zangetsu actually was and impressed that her fellow pariah was so skilled at his age.

Mei, on the other hand was just happy to see her savior again and have the chance to thank him for his help.

"Thank you so much for saving me Naruto-kun" Mei said hugging him, unconsciously adding the suffix.

"Mei-chan, as I'm sure Hiruzen told you this morning, all the thanks I needed was to be able spend time in the company of an angel such as yourself although I wish we could have met under more pleasant circumstances" Naruto said kindly as he hugged her back, trying to ignore how good she smelled, the incredibly soft mounds pressed against his chest and the way her hair tickled the bottom of his chin. _"Good god this woman is incredible"_ he thought to himself. Mei was in a similar situation, loving the feeling of his muscled arms around her and basking in the sense of warmth and safety she felt while in them. _"I could stay in his arms forever"_ she thought to herself. Unfortunately for the both of them, all good things must come to an end and this end came in the form of an amused old man.

"Enjoying yourselves?" Hiruzen asked with a smirk. Naruto and Mei jumped away from each other as if shocked, blushing heavily as they did so and missing the feeling of being in each other's arms. Kyuubi and Zangetsu weren't exactly helping matters either, both singing _"Naruto and Mei sitting in a tree"_. Honestly, both of them were centuries old and yet he had to be the mature one most of the time. Where's the logic in that?

"I'm sure I can trust all of you won't reveal Naruto-kun's secret" Hiruzen said seriously.

"Of course, Hokage-sama" they all answered.

"Good" He said happily.

"If I may, I have a question for Naruto Hokage-sama" Kurenai asked nervously.

"Of course Kurenai-chan what do you want to ask?" Hiruzen asked her.

"I'm right here you know" Naruto said, slightly annoyed.

"Oh right, sorry about that" Kurenai said, embarrassed.

"It's alright but what did want to ask me?" Naruto said.

"Why did you pretend to be a blond idiot when you were actually Zangetsu?" she asked.

"Kurenai, you do know about my tenant don't you?" Naruto asked. Seeing her nod he continued. "And what do you think our beloved council would have done if they found out I was this strong". Kurenai's eyes widened. The Shinobi Council wouldn't really care but the Elders and Civilian's would have an absolute fit and rally for his death if they realised the "demon" was growing stronger.

"I understand" she said quietly.

"What do you mean by tenant?" Mei asked, confused and everyone else cursed in their heads.

_"Fuck my life hard" _Naruto mentally groaned again. Seeing the old man about to divert her attention he decided to just tell her now and damn the consequences.

"It's alright old man I'll tell her" Naruto told him, stopping him mid-sentence and earning shocked looks the rooms other occupants and a confused one from Mei.

"Are you sure about this Naruto-kun" Hiruzen asked, worried. Despite his skill his surrogate grandson could still be a bit reckless at times.

"Yeah, better she find out about this now than hear a corrupted version from the civilians later" he answered firmly with Hiruzen nodding, seeing his point.

"I'm still here you know" Mei said, annoyed.

"Ah sorry about that" Naruto said sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head.

"So, what did you mean by tenant" she asked again.

"What I mean is that I'm the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi No Kitsune" Naruto said, bracing himself for the worst.

"That explains the eyes and whiskers then" Mei said to herself, prompting a mass face-fault and garnering odd looks form everyone in the room.

"What, did you expect me to yell demon or something?" Mei asked incredulously. Her answer came in the form of a nod from everyone in the room, Naruto included, causing her to sweatdrop.

"Is my reaction really that weird to you? He saved me from missing nin last night. My Kage's a Jinchuuriki as well. Plus I'm not an irrational idiot" Mei said. For some strange reason many people of Konoha sneezed as one, freaking all of them out to an extreme degree.

"Why can't we have more people like her in the village?" Hiruzen asked sadly with Naruto, Yugao, Anko and Kurenai nodding in agreement, making Mei's sweatdrop even larger.

"Is that all old man?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah Naruto-kun that's all" Hiruzen answered.

"Oh and because you made me reveal myself before I planned to I'm not gonna tell you how to defeat your paperwork" Naruto said with a wicked smirk on his face as he turned to leave, a smirk that made Mei, Kyuubi and Zangetsu feel weak in the knees and hot under the collar.

With speed that would have put his successor to shame Hiruzen vanished from his seat and reappeared before Naruto on his knees and clutching his trousers. He may have looked undignified but he couldn't give a shit. He'd willing dive in to the darkest pits of hell or even worse watch Guy and Lee's "Sunset of Youth" genjutsu to know how to defeat paperwork.

It was the bane of all Kages, a demon more fearsome than the Juubi with tenacity comparable to a Hydra. For every stack you signed two more were in its place, mocking you. It was an eternal, unyielding, unending beast that had plagued humanity since time in memorial. It was his greatest foe, his arch nemesis, an enemy so terrifying it made Madara Uchiha, the God-damned boogey man of the shinobi world piss himself.

"Please Naruto-kun, I'll give you anything you want, anything, if you tell me how to vanquish man's greatest foe" Hiruzen begged, earning sweatdrops from everyone in the room, Naruto included. The portraits of the previous Hokages however, nodded in approval. They truly knew like no other how tenacious the beast could be and if the child was the one who could help them slay it then he was undoubtedly "the Chosen One".

"Fine but I five demands that must be met" Naruto said, relenting.

"Of course, whatever you want" Hiruzen said frantically, a pen and paper appearing in his hand out of nowhere.

"1: I want twelve jutsu from the Hokage Library" he said.

"Ok" Hiruzne said, taking it down.

"2: I want Sannin travel rights that will extend from me to any companion's I may have with me" he said, getting a nod from Hiruzen.

"3: I get to pick my genin team and make alterations to others. You choose the sensei though, you'd know which ones would be better than me." Naruto said getting another nod.

"4: You can't tell your anyone else the secret. Only I a can" He said."And I'll tell you what the last one is when I think of it" he said happily getting a sweatdrop from the girls in the process and odd looks.

"What, it never hurts to have someone owe you a favour" he said with a shrug.

"Ok here is the pre-made list for the teams" Hiruzen said handing him the list and a pen. Naruto thanked and made his corrections before handing it back to him.

"So, how do I kill the beast?" Hiruzen asked, salivating at the thought.

"Two words. Kage bushin" he said. Hiruzen eyes widened and he froze, before walking over to the wall and smashing his head against it repeatedly.

"Stupid, STUPID, **STUPID**! How the hell didn't I think of that? I'm the Professor for fuck sake!" he yelled angrily as he vented. The Hokages in the portraits were having a similar reaction and were scaring the shit out of Naruto who seemed to be the only to notice, though the Yondaime looked oddly proud at the same time, probably because it was _his _son who defeated the evil of paperwork. The others were still staring at the Sandaime, transfixed.

"He's gonna be like that for a while. You should probably just leave" Naruto said as he walked past them and out the door, reapplying his henge as he did so and snapping them out of their reverie.

They nodded and shunshined away except for Mei who seemed to be debating with herself about something before she ran after Naruo.

"Wait" she called out to him.

"Do you need something Mei-chan" he asked and turned around, smiling warmly as he did so. Mei blushed at his smile before asking him the question.

"I w-was wondering if you'd like…" Mei's question was interrupted by the sound of her stomach rumbling. Mei face reddened again as she cursed herself for not getting something small with Kurenai and Anko while Naruto just smiled at her, making her blush even more.

"I was heading to get a bite to eat, care to join me?" he asked with a slight smirk and got quick nod in response. Mei meanwhile was delighted he asked her, instead of her asking him as she was about to.

"Let's go then" he said with a smile as he held out his arm to her. She took his arm and pressed it arm against her ample bosom as they headed to their destination, Ichiraku Ramen.

Ichiraku Ramen

Naruto and Mei had just entered Ichiraku Ramen when Naruto saw a familiar face just leaving.

"Hey Yoruichi-chan" Naruto said as he waved at her.

"Hey Naruto-kun who's your friend?" Yoruichi asked upon seeing the buxom redhead on his arm.

"Oh yeah," Naruto said, disentangling himself from Mei much to her displeasure. "Yoruichi-chan this is Mei Terumi, a new friend of mine. Mei-chan this is Yoruichi Shihoin, my best friend from the academy".

"So Mei-san, how do you know Naruto-kun here?" Yourichi asked her.

"Eh…" Mei said, unsure if she could tell her the story because she didn't know if Yoruichi knew about him being Zangetsu.

"It's cool Mei-chan, Yoruichi-chan knows the whole story about me, my tenant and my blade" Naruto informed her upon seeing her hesitate. Mei nodded then told Yoruichi her tale including the meeting.

"So, that's why you had to meet with the Hokage" Yoruichi said after hearing the story.

"Yep" Naruto nodded.

"And you forgot to tell me that story when I asked if anything interesting happened last night?" she asked incredulously.

"What can I say" Naruto said with a shrug. "I was kind of reliving kicking Mizuki-teme"s ass when you asked me".

"I asked just after the spar" she said with a sweatdrop.

"So?" he asked simply, prompting a face-fault from both Yoruichi and Mei.

"Whatever" Yoruichi said shaking her head. "Look I'll see you next week at team placements ok?" she said..

"See ya" Yoruichi said with a wave as she left the stand.

"See ya" Naruto said as he waved back to her.

"So, she's a friend of yours" Mei asked, as they sat down on some stools at the ramen stand.

"Yep, me and Yoruichi-chan have been friends since we were kids when the old man brought us both to the park and introduced us. She's my best and oldest friend" Naruto said with a nostalgic smile on his face.

_"She sees him as more than a friend"_ Mei thought to herself. She saw the loving look in Yoruichi's eye when she saw him. It was the same look Mei had in her own when looked at laid her eyes on him. Looks like she might have some competition. Or a harem sister, Mei always was a little bi.

"Hey Teuchi, your favoutite customer is here" Naruto yelled and a middle-aged man wearing an apron came out from the kitchen.

"Hey Naruto, what do you and your girlfriend want" Teuchi said with a grin, that only grew wider upon seeing the young couple blush.

Deciding not to give a response to that comment Naruto gave his order with Mei pitching in with her own.

"So Mei-chan, tell me about yourself" Naruto said as Teuchi left to prepare their order.

"What do you mean?" she asked him curiously.

"I mean, name likes, dislike, hobbies and dreams for the future. I'll go first as an example. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. My likes are Yourichi-chan, you, a certain vixen and my blade, ramen, foxes, cats, the moon, pranking people, kenjutsu, my precious people and training. My dislikes are the Uchiha Clan bar two of them, the Haruno Clan, fan girls, arrogant pricks, gravity, rapists, the Elders and Civilian Council, waiting and anyone who tries to mess with my precious people. My hobbies are making new seals and jutsu, staring at the moon at night, hanging out with my precious people, training and generally making shit go boom. And as for my dreams, well, I'll figure it out when I get there" Naruto said, not noticing the blush blooming on Mei's face when she was mentioned as one of his likes.

"Ok, I get it. My name is Mei Terumi. My likes are you, Kiri, Ninjustsu, dango, my precious people, swimming and training. My dislikes are rapists, arrogant pricks, fan girls, sunlight in the morning and judgmental assholes. My hobbies are training, swimming and hanging out with my precious people. And as for my dream, I hope to become a great kunoichi on par with Tsunade herself, marry a nice man and have a family" Mei said, smiling at him.

"Here's your ramen" Teuch said and put it before them.

"Cheers old man" Naruto thanked Teuchi before he walked off to serve his other customers.

"He'll be a lucky man" Naruto told her.

"Who" Mei asked, confused.

"The lucky bastard who manages to win the heart of an angel such as yourself" he elaborated.

"T-thanks, Naruto-kun" she said, her face turning crimson once again.

"No need to thank me when I'm telling the truth Mei-chan" Naruto told her, causing her face to redden even more.

After that they fell into a companionable silence as they ate their ramen, simply enjoying the other's presence. Once they were finished, Naruto paid for their meals.

"So, where are you staying?" Naruto asked her once they were outside the stand.

"The Gilded Leaf" Mei answered him.

"Nice place, I'll walk you to it" Naruto told her.

"You don't have to" Mei said to him, not wanting to be bother.

"Nonsense, it's my duty as gentleman to escort a lady home after a meal. And even if it wasn't I'd do it anyway because I want to" Naruto told her.

"Thanks" she said and took his arm once more as they walked towards the hotel.

"Well, here we are" Naruto said as they stood before the hotel.

"Thanks for the food Naruto-kun" Mei said to him gratefully.

"No problem" he told her happily and turned to leave only to feel something warm, soft and wet pressed against his cheek.

It was Mei's lips.

"Goodnight Naruto-kun" she said walked into the hotel, leaving him unable too see her face glowing crimson.

"Goodnight Mei-chan" he said quietly as he touched the spot on his cheek where she kissed him, a faint blush present on his cheeks before he walked into the night towards his home, a small smile lighting up his face.

**AN: Sorry for the delay guys and there's going be a similar one before the next chapter. Anyway I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, especially the reveal of Naruto being Zangetsu. Also about the semi-date between Naruto and Mei, I never intended that when I started writing this chapter. It just kinda happened and I felt it was a way nice end to the chapter. Also, I've been meaning to say this in the last two chapters but I would like to thank everyone for the adding to the story to their favourites and reviews. And as a last note the Naruo's bloodline has finally been guessed. See ya.**

**Edited: 14 June 2013**


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. A guy called Kishimoto does. I don't own Bleach either Some lucky chap called Tite owns that.

The Eighth Swordsman

Chapter 6

The Academy-Team Assignments

All those who graduated in the Genin exams last week were waiting in the classroom for Iruka to arrive and announce their teams. That was one of the main topics of conservation. The other, of course was the new and improved Naruto Uzumaki. Said topic of conversation was daydreaming as he sat by Yoruichi, who was taking a power nap. At least that's what he seemed to be doing. In reality Naruto was reflecting over the events of the last week. It all started when he fell asleep after walking Mei to her hotel when he was pulled into his mindscape by Kyu-chan and Zan-chan.

Flashback

_Naruto had just fallen asleep and felt himself being pulled into his mindscape. He opened his eyes and looked around to find himself sitting in the shade of a large tree and lying against its trunk in a tranquil meadow bordered by a forest. There was a river cutting a gleaming curve in the meadow and in the centre of said meadow lay a large house. He changed his mindscape to this meadow a couple of years ago at Kyuubi and Zangetsu's request. Speaking of which._

_"Oi, Kyu-chan, Zan-chan, where are you two?" Naruto called out as he knew that they were the only ones who could pull him in there. If only he knew just how wrong he was._

_"Right here Naruto-kun" they both answered him. Naruto turned around and saw them both step out from behind the tree, smiling sweetly at him with blushes present on their faces. They both looked at each other as if to steel their nerves as Naruto got up from where he was sitting below the tree and made his way over to them._

_"So, what did you two bring me in here for?" Naruto asked them with his head tilted to the side and a curious expression his face that left them both inwardly screaming Kawaii._

_"This" Kyuubi answered before she pulled him forward and smashed her lips into his, moaning at the sensation. Naruto was too stunned to react for a moment, making Kyuubi's heart plummet, before he responded in kind, making her heart rise from the depths once more. He deepened the kiss, much to Kyuubi delight and their tongues battles for dominance before he won out and explored the inside of her mouth, loving the taste of strawberries. He then let Kyuubi explore his own, which unsurprisingly tasted like ramen. Eventually the need for air became to great and the two separated, red faced and breathing harder than before._

_"And this" Zangetsu said, barely giving Naruto's eyes time to widen before crushing his lips with her own, letting loose her own moan at the feeling. He responded quicker this time, not as caught of guard as before and his tongue clashed with Zangtsu's own before he won once more, his tongue plundered her mouth which tasted like blackberries and then let her tongue pay a visit to his own. The need for air won out once more and the two stepped away from one another, each with a red face and breathing heavily though it was more apparent on Naruto._

_Seeing Naruto was slightly dazed, they decided to explain themselves with a single sentence._

_"We love you Naruto-kun" they both said simply gazing at him with warmth and affection their eyes._

_"Huh?" was Naruto's well thought out and intelligent response._

_"We love you Naruto-kun, we always have and we always will" they told him._

_"Why" he asked them quietly._

_"You're kind, caring, strong, determined and unflinchingly loyal to those who've earned your trust" they answered him together._

_"You saw past my reputation as a demon and got to know me despite the pain I've caused you" Kyuubi told him._

_"You don't see me as a mere tool but as an equal and your partner" Zangetsu said._

_"I love you both too" both their hearts rose at this "but" only to fall right back down again. What could possibly cause a but? "I also love Yorichi-chan and I am starting to fall for Mei-chan" he said, he hated himself for saying it but it was better now than later._

_Kyuubi and Zangetsu simply laughed at him, prompting a confused look from him. "We already know that Naruto-kun" they told him._

_"How do you know that?" he asked them._

_"We live in your head remember" they both deadpanned._

_"Oh yeah" he said grinning sheepishly and scratching the back of his head, he kinda forgot about that._

_"And we don't mind sharing either. If we're willing to share with each other why wouldn't we be willing few more girls. Besides you're going to have a harem anyway because of the C.R.A." they both told him._

_"Thank you" he said hugging them._

_"Besides just think of it, we could an orgy" Kyuubi said excitedly, ruining the lovely moment between the three of them. And think of it Naruto did, and at the thought of the sweat pouring off their voluptuous bodies as he pounded all of them he went flying backwards with a nosebleed so powerful it happened outside the mindscape waking him up temporarily before the wall sent him to sleep once more._

_"You had to say didn't you" Zangetsu asked her after a while._

_"Yep" she said happily._

Flashback Over

The rest of the week after that was pretty enjoyable. He spent his nights in his mindscape talking to (having make-out sessions with) Kyuubi and Zangetsu .He also hung out with both Mei and Yoruichi who hit it off quite well much to his delight. He also sparred with Mei and found she shared his fire affinity and so they had a spar using only fire techniques and essentially reduced the once lovely green fields of Training Ground 3 into an ash-filled wasteland, completely barren of life. It was fun. He also played flash tag with Yoruichi quite a bit. She was still better than him at it but she said he was doing pretty well for only learning shunpo so he was happy with that. Later in the week he was challenged to a strictly Kenjutsu spar by Yugao. By the end of it both were covered in little knicks and cuts but Naruto won the spar when he disarmed her and held Zangetsu to her throat. Though it must be said that Yugao definitely made him work for it, making the match last for two hours. They decided to spar once a week when they had the chance and weren't on missions. She was also bringing her fiancé, Hayate next time around.

Naruto was brought out of his musings when Iruka entered the room, and woke Yoruichi up who gave a yawn and feline stretch before looking around and noticing Iruka standing beside his desk at the front of the room and nodding her thanks to Naruto.

"Alright, before I make Team Announcements I would just like say it has been a pleasure to teach you all and I wish you the best of luck in your future as a shinobi of Konoha". Iruka said with a proud smile on his face as he looked over his now former students.

He picked up the list and started calling it out "Team One is…irrelevant" Naruto finished in his mind and tuned out Iruka's voice until he reached Team Seven.

"Teams Seven consists of Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno and Sai. Your Jonin-sensei is Kakashi Hatake". Sakura stood up and was about to shout some bull about "true love" when she felt a chill a creep over her spine and turned to see Naruto smiling darkly at her while tossing his knife in the air and catching it by the blade with the silhouette of the Kyuubi roaring behind him. She wisely sat her bitch ass back down. Naruto was then swarmed by grateful looks from the people in the classroom, Iruka included. Naruto smirked, happy with his modifications to that team, Sasuke would be driven mad by Sakura's fangirl tendencies and Sai's insults. Sai was a bastard but he was a funny bastard. He felt bad for Kakashi though, his aniki didn't deserve that kind of shit.

"Team Eight consists of Hinata Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame. Your Jonin-sensei is Kurenai Yuuhi" Iruka said.

"Team Nine is still in rotation from last year" Iruka said.

"Team Ten consists of Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akamichi and Shikamaru Nara. Your Jonin-sensei is Asuma Sarutobi" Iruka said.

"Team Eleven consists of Naruto Uzumaki and Yoruichi Shihouin. Your Jonin-sensei is Rangiku Matsumoto" Iruka called out as he read the last team on the list. Naruto felt the corners of his lips curl upwards in a small smile at the look of delight that settled on Yoruichi's face once she heard that she was going to be on the same team as her Naruto-kun.

Her Naruto-kun.

She could get used to saying that.

"So, Naruto-kun do you know anything about our sensei?" she asked him.

"Her name was Rangiku Matsumoto right?" Naruto questioned her, getting a nod in response.

"Nope, haven't the foggiest" he said with an eyesmile, prompting a face-fault from Yoruichi.

"Then why did you ask me about her name?" she asked exasperatedly.

"To mess with you of course" Naruto answered happily with a large grin on his face.

""I hate sometimes, you know that don't you?" Yourichi told him, angrily.

"I love you too Yoru-chan" Naruto said, unknowingly bringing a large blush up to her face which she hid from him.

"Alright everyone, your Jonin-sensei should arrive here shortly" Iruka said as he made his way out of the room. Shortly afterwards the door opened and in came the Jonin-sensei's. Well three of them as least. Naruto sighed as he saw Kakashi's shock of silver hair was missing. He should've known he'd be late. Eh, who gives a fuck anyhow. It would only piss off Sasuke and Sakura, which was a win in his book. Sai probably couldn't give a shit either way. One of the few benefits of being the emotionless bastard that he was.

He nodded and smiled to Kurenia and Asuma. The Asuma was a good friend of Naruto's and always up for a game of Shogi. His eyes fell on the last member of the group and he felt his breath leave his body. She was simply breathtaking, no other adjective could to her justice.

She had light greyish blue eyes, a beauty mark underneath the right side of her mouth, long, wavy orange hair that fell to her firm bubble butt, a bust that was on par with Tsunade's, easily an E-Cup and perfect curves. The woman seemed to embody the term voluptuous. Her attire consisted of a black low cut shirt with pink faming the collar that showed quite a bit of cleavage much to the delight of all males present, a thin golden necklace nestled in said cleavage, pink fingerless gloves, tight black Anbu issue pants that hugged her curves with white medical tape around the ankles with a kunai pouch attached to her left thigh, and black boots. She had a straight bladed katana secured to her left hip by the pink Konoha headband she wore as a belt, the same way Naruto secured Zangetsu to his own hip. The katana had a red hilt with a golden diamond pattern running along it, a golden guard in the shape of a cat's head and a long, silver blade.

"Team Eight you're with me" Kurenai called out before she left the room Hinata, Kiba and Shino in tow.

"Team Ten, meet me at The Akamichi Barbeque" Asuma stated before he too marched out of the room, getting a cheer from Choji as he and Ino followed close behind him with Shikamaru sleepwalking a few steps behind them. Those still left in the classroom sweatdropped at the slackers behavior bar Naruto who merely applauded him. Seeing the odd looks thrown in his direction he remarked "Come on, you have to admit matching their pace and avoiding all the possible obstacles in his way while asleep is pretty damn impressive".

"Team Eleven, meet me at Training Ground 11" Rangiku said before she vanished in a shunshin, leaving a cloud of ash behind her.

Naruto and Yorichi looked at each other and grinned before they phased out of existence and the classroom with a shunpo.

"So, dickless when do you think Kakashi is gonna get here" Sai asked Sasuke with that creepy fake smile of his. Seeing the glare he got in response to his query his fake smile turned into an amused smirk. Danzo-sama may have ordered him to help the Uchiha but that didn't mean he couldn't fuck with him as he did so.

Maybe he shouldn't talk with Naruto as much as he did.

Training Ground 11

Training Ground 11 was like many training grounds in Konoha, a wide green field with trees dotting the area and a large river cutting across it as a source of water for Suiton Ninjutsu.

Rangiku reappeared beside one of these trees with Naruto and Yoruichi close on his heels. Rangiku took in the appearance off her new Genin, the girl was a real beauty, chocolate coloured skin, sparkling golden eyes and long purple hair done in a ponytail. The one who really interested her however was the boy with wild, shaggy black hair that fell to his shoulders, red slitted eyes that screamed about power and the resolve needed to use it and whisker marks giving him a feral appearance that left Rangiku hard pressed to fight down her blush. Her eyes widened when she saw the sword on his hip and she felt a smile bloom on her face. It was just like her mother described it in the stories she told her when she was a child. She then thought back on how she ended up as here.

Flashback

_Earlier in the moring that day ten Jonin were gathered before the Hokage, these were going to be the Jonin-sensei for this years Academy graduates. Among them Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma, Rangiku, Genma, Aoba, Hayate, Anko (May Kami have mercy on those poor misfortunate bastards because Anko certainly wasn't going to) and two other Jonin who aren't really relevant enough for the author to give them a name because he's a lazy bastard. Rangiku meanwhile, was plotting on how to get out of being a Jonin-sensei. Said plot consisted of using her considerable assets to persuade the old man to let her get the day off and give the Jonin-sensei job to some other poor sod so she could drink sake, a favourite pastime of hers. It worked before and as the saying goes, if it ain't broke don't fix it._

_Before she could enact her brilliant plan however, she was brought out of her musings by the old man telling them their teams._

_"Team One is…"Rangiku tuned him out until only Kurenai, Asuma and Kakashi and herself remained._

_"Kakashi, your in charge of Team Seven which consists of Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno and Sai" Hiruzen told him sadly and his fellow Jonin-sensei still room comforted the legendary Son of the White Fang as he sobbed. An arrogant, emo, Uchiha avenger, a fangirl of said avenger and whatever the fuck Sai actually was. Even Anko wouldn't wish that on Orochimaru. Okay, maybe she would but it was still fucking cruel as hell._

_"Kakashi, just take this and go to your happy place ok" Kurenai said in a kind motherly tone as she handed him his Icha Icha, getting looks of shock from everyone in the room bar Kakashi who merely hugged the book to his chest like it was his lifeline._

_Kurenai Yuuhi, a pervert hater on par with Tsunade just handed Kakashi Hatake, a pervert only surpassed by the Sandaime and Toad Sage, the works of said Toad Sage, Icha Icha Paradise, the pervert version of the bible. The world had to be ending. Next thing you know Tsunade would ask out Jiraiya and Orochimaru would return to the Leaf with an age appropriate _girl_friend._

_"Even I know he needs it right now" Kurenai said getting the others to nod. After a while Kakashi returned to normal, thanked Kurenai then left to read his book until he decided he was appropriately late to show up at the academy._

_"Kurenai-chan, you've got Team Eight which consists of Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuuga and Shino Aburame". Kurenai nodded and left, happy that she got Hinata and was able to train a tracking team just like she wanted to._

_"Asuma, Team Ten, the new Ino-Shika-Cho trio is all yours". Asuma nodded to him and followed Kurenai out the door so he could talk to her about arranging their second date._

_Rangiku, seeing she was the only one left was about to put her plan into action but was stopped by the Sandaime before she could. "Rangiku-chan, don't even try it" the Sandaime said._

_"You'll be teaching Naruto Uzumaki and Yoruichi Shihouin" he told her._

_"Do I have to" she whined and got a nod in response._

_"If you want to find out who Zangetsu is you do" the Sandaime said and knew he had her at that. Rangiku more so than anyone else in the entire village wanted to know who he was and searched tirelessly for Zangetsu though she never told him why._

_Rangiku stiffened at that, if she found him she could finally fulfill the role passed down along her family line from generation to generation as they waited for Zangetsu to make herself and her wielder known to the world once more. A duty she knew fell on her soldiers the day her blade, Haineko glowed black with red edging it one night when she was only twelve years old. She started searching for Zangetsu from that night onwards, just like the six others spread across the Elemental Nations._

_Unfortunately, her search remained unfruitful up until a year ago when the stories of Zangetsu first appeared in the Leaf. The tales spoke of a dark warrior with demonic red eyes and a blade, black as sin that was rumored to be able tear the night sky asunder. She knew it was him though he still contrived to remain anonymous, something that irritated her to no small amount._

_"What the hell does Zangetsu have to do with my genin team?" she asked him, irritated with old man for stopping her from fulfilling her duty as the current wielder of Haineko._

_"Well for starters he's on it" Hiruzen simply._

_"Huh?" she asked intelligently._

_"You'll be teaching him" Hiruzen informed her, amused at the thunderstruck look on her face at his words._

_"Are you trying to tell me that the legendary Zangetsu, Konoha's Dark Swordsman, the man I've been searching for all this time and Naruto Uzumaki, Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi No Kitsune and Prankster King of Konoha are one and the same" Rangiku asked in deadly quiet tone of voice._

_"Yes" Sarutobi said carefully, wary of the tone the buxom young beauty before him was using. The last time he heard that tone was before his late wife, Biwako unleashed an ass-kicking of God-like preportions upon him._

_"Why the FUCK didn't you tell me who he was" Rangiku yelled at him, having lost all control of the anger and frustration that had built up in her over the years at her inability to find him._

_Sarutobi despite his image as the kind grandfather-like Hokage lost his patience and answered in an equally angry but far more quiet and deadly tone "Why do you think Rangiku? Use that head of yours. What would the Council try if they found out about him?"._

_This shut Rangiku the hell up as she paled upon realizing what would happen to the child if they found out. Let's just say it wasn't pleasant._

_"You were protecting him" she muttered to herself._

_"Yes, we had to keep his training and skill level a secret until he was ready to face the Council" he told._

_"And is he ready?" she asked him._

_Sarutobi couldn't help the grin that came to face. "Definitely. We're just waiting for the right moment to unveil his power"._

_"Sorry for earlier Hokage-sama, it's just a little personal for me" she said in a chagrined tone._

_The Hokage merely waved off her apology though that last part caught his attention. "And why is that Rangiku-chan?" he asked her, feeling close to finally solving the mystery of Rangiku's obsession._

_"An old promise" she said before she disappeared in her ash shunshin, leaving a confused old man behind before he shrugged and made some kage bushins, mentally thanking the gaki as he did so before returning his attention to the latest addition of Icha Icha. "Oh, Kasumi-chan you naughty, naughty girl" he said to himself with a perverted giggle as a blush started to spread across his face and blood started to drip from his nose, leaving the Anbu who had returned to the room when Rangiku left after being dismissed during the Jonin-sensei assignments to sweatdrop at their Hokage's behavior._

Flashback End

Rangiku brought her attention back to her genin team and saw them looking at her expectantly. She smiled sheepishly and introduced herself.

"Let's start with introductions, shall we. I'll go first. My name is Rangiku Matsumoto. My likes are sake, the Hotsprings, my friends, my sword, napping, teasing people, and kenjutsu. My dislikes are paperwork, fangirls, arrogant pricks, rapists, the Elders and the Civilian Council. My hobbies are training, napping, teasing people, relaxing at the Hotsprings and drinking with my fellow Jonin. As for my dreams I want to have a family and fulfill an old promise to a great man. Your turn tall, dark and handsome" she told Naruto and giggled as he blushed.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. My likes are Yourichi-chan, Mei-chan, you, a certain vixen and my blade, ramen, foxes, cats, the moon, pranking people, kenjutsu, my precious people and training. My dislikes are the Uchiha Clan bar two of them, the Haruno Clan, fangirls, arrogant pricks, gravity, rapists, waiting, anyone who tries to mess with my precious people, the Elders and Civilian. My hobbies are making new seals and jutsu, staring at the moon at night, hanging out with my precious people, training and generally making shit go boom. And as for my dreams, well, I'll figure it out when I get there" Naruto said, not noticing the blushes present on their faces when the two beauties were mentioned as his likes.

"Aw Naru-kun, I like you too" Rangiku said hugging him and forcing his head into her substantial chest. Not that he was complaining. No straight man would. _"I like her"_ Kyuubi said to Zangetsu who nodded in agreement

"Eh, sensei I think your suffocating him" Yoruichi said, slightly annoyed with Naruto's head being nestled in her new sensei's cleavage.

"Ah, gomen" Rangiku said as she released Naruto leaving his face an interesting shade of purple. "Anyway your up neko-chan".

Yoruichi rolled her eyes at the nickname before answering. "My name is Yorichi Shihouin. My likes are milk, fish, Naruto-kun, cats, the hotsprings, napping, taijustu and pranking people. My dislikes are fangirls, the emo Uchiha, the Haruno Clan, the Elders and Civilian Council and arrogant assholes. My hobbies are training, playing flash-tag, relaxing in the hotsprings. My dreams are to have a family, become a taijutsu master and surpass the Yellow Flash in speed".

"Alright, I'm meant to give you guys a test based on teamwork but since you two are childhood friends it would probably be redundant. and I kinda forgot the bells needed to test you" Rangiku told them in a cheerful tone making her two new genin sweatdrop at her carefree attitude. "So we'll have to pass on that for now. I'd like to know what you to specialize in and what you'd like to improve in and if you want to learn something else entirely. Yoruichi-chan you're first, then Naruto-kun".

"I specialise in high speed taijutsu and I'd like to learn some ninjustu for long range and maybe some fuinjutsu as well" Yoruichi informed her.

"I specialise in Kenjutsu, taijutsu, fuinjutsu and I dabble in ninjutsu for long range" Naruto told her.

"As for myself I specialise in kenjutsu and ninjutsu and a little taijutsu as well. I'm sorry Yoruichi-chan but you'll have to ask Naruto-kun here about fuinjutsu okay? I should be able to teach you both a few ninjutsu as well as soon as I find out your affinity though. And Naruto-kun we can spar to keep up and improve your skills in kenjutsu though I'm sure you're pretty good already being Zangetsu " Rangiku told him seeing them look happy at being taught a few new jutsu but both of them tensed at the mention of Naruto being Zangetsu.

"The old man told you didn't he?" Naruto asked and then cursed at her nod.

"It's okay, your secret's safe with me Naruto-kun" she told him.

"Thanks Rangiku-chan" he told her gratefully.

"No problem Naruto-kun" she told him happily, then started fishing in her pocket for something.

"Gotcha" she exclaimed happily as she removed her hand from her pocket.

"Got what Rangiku-sensei?" they both asked her.

"This" she said and held out her open palm to reveal three slips of paper.

"That was kind of anti-climatic. I was expecting some kind of scroll or weapon or something badass like that" Naruto commented.

"Yeah" Yoruichi agreed.

Rangiku face faulted and then told them the purpose of the paper. "This is chakra nature paper. It will tell you your elemental affinity when you channel chakra into it. Fire burns, earth crumbles, water soaks, lightning crinkles and wind cuts" she told them and handed both of them a sheet of paper and all three them channeled their chakra into the paper, Rangiku doing so as well though she was more of a demonstration than anything else. Rangiku's paper split in half and then was consumed in flames, showing a strong wind affinity and stronger fire one. Yoruichi's paper split in half and then crinkled into a ball, showing a strong wind affinity and a stronger lightning one. Naruto's paper split in half as well, one half turning into a small fireball and the other crinkling into a tiny ball, showing an equally potent affinity for fire, wind and lightning.

"Ok, we all share a wind affinity and you two share a lightning affinity so I'll start you two on training those two affinities tomorrow along with chakra control, physical conditioning and a spar to end the training session" she told them and got a nod in response. "I'll show you the training exercises for fire nature chakra tomorrow as well ok Naruto-kun".

"No need to Rangiku-chan I've already mastered my fire affinity" Naruto told her.

"Seriously?" Rangiku asked him, a bit stunned. Nature affinities and manipulation were Jonin level skills for a reason after all.

"I'm Zangetsu for a reason Rangiku-chan" Naruto reminded her.

"Oh yeah" she said in a chagrinned tone. "Well that's something else we don't have to worry about then. Ok, I want you both to meet here tomorrow morning at eight a.m. for training. Ja ne" she told them before vanishing in her ash shunshin.

"Yoruichi-chan care to accompany me to Ichiraku's" Naruto asked her politely while offering her his arm as a gentleman should.

Yoruichi giggled at him before answering him. "Of course Naruto-kun" she and replied and took the offered limb and rested her head on his shoulder as they walked off towards the Ramen restaurant.

**AN: I managed to get this chapter out early and the next one should be out within the next fortnight. Anyway if any of you could suggest a title for Naruto besides Zangetsu I'd really appreciate it if you sent it to me via PM or review. The Dark Swordsman was the best I could come up with. Also I'm debating on doing the Civil War in the Kiri or not. Let me know what you think of me doing it along with what you thought of the chapter in your reviews. Did any of you see Rangiku as their sensei coming? Also this is the first chapter of this story not to be posted at 4 a.m. **

**Take it hand,**

**Maverick Wilde**

**Edited: 14 June 2013**


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. A guy called Kishimoto does. I don't own Bleach either Some lucky chap called Tite owns that.

The Eighth Swordsman

Chapter 7

Hokage's Office, Evening after Team Assignments

The Hokage and the new jonin-sensei bar one were all gathered in his office waiting for Kakashi. As usual.

"Sorry everyone, I was on my way here when a little old lady asked me to help her with her shopping and what kind of man would I be if I didn't" Kakashi apologised with an eyesmile making his colleagues and commanding officer here with sweatdrop at the lie.

"Whatever Kakashi. Line up and everyone tell the status of your teams" Hiruzen aid. "Team One fail" Nameless Jonin Number One said.

"Team Two fail" Namelss Jonin Number Two said.

"Team Three fail" Hayate said.

"Team Four fail" Genma said.

"Team Five fail" Aoba said.

"Team Six fail" Anko said with a sadistic grin.

"Anko-chan, do I even want to know why your three genin were admitted to the hospital to be healed by severe exhaustion and bloodloss. And what in the hell did you do to them to make them start shaking and muttering _"Not the rusty spoon. Anything but the rusty spoon"_. I had to call Inoichi from T and I to erase their memories and even he looked pretty shaken, hell he even erased in his own glimpse of the memory".

"Nope and it's a secret" Anko said happily munching on some Dango she had pulled from … somewhere.

"Team Seven pass" Kakashi said sadly with Asuma patting him on the back.

"How?" the Hokage asked incredulously.

"I gave them the bell test. Sasuke was the one to be tied to the stump by the end of it and Sakura fed him believing it would earn her a place in his heart like the fangirl she is. Plus I would have to pass them anyway because of the Elders and Civilian Council" Kakashi said simply, gaining nods of understanding from his fellow Jonin-sensei. He also received looks of sympathy from the Anbu guards in the room. Their poor sempai got a raw deal with that team.

"Team Eight pass" Kurenai said.

"Team Ten pass" Asuma said getting a nod from everyone else in the room. It was the new Ino-Shika-Cho trio after all.

"Team Eleven pass" Rangiku said, a little too casually.

"You forgot the bells didn't you?" Hiruzen stated.

"What makes you say that?" Rangiu asked him.

"They're on my desk" Hiruzen said dryly, pointing to the bells on top of his stack of paperwork.

"My bad" Rangiku said sheepishly with a carefree grin on her face as she put the bells in her pocket, making everyone in the room sweatdrop lightly.

Three weeks later

Team Eleven followeda very simple schedule over the past few weeks. They made a single shadow clone of themselves and had them do D-ranks while they trained. Speaking of which, their training had been going well over the last few weeks. Their chakra control was mid to high chunin level and both Naruto and Yoruichi had mastered the first stage of wind chakra manipulation thanks to shadow clones, though that was more exploited on Naruto's part thanks to his massive reserves. They were currently working on lightning chakra manipulation by converting their chakra to lightning nature chakra and channeling it into a lightbulb in order to light it. Rangiku also taught them five jutsu for each of the affinities they had. Two C-Rank, Two B-rank and one A-Rank in each. Their taijustu was also very good, high chunin at the very least with Yourichi being slightly faster and more skilled but Naruto being stronger and having more stamina so they were an even match with each other. Naruto was also sparring with Rangiku every second day in kenjutsu. Rangiku was a very skilled opponent, better that Yugao and Naruto was had to use every last bit of skill he had to beat her. Rangiku for her part was astounded with Naruto's skills in kenjutsu, she knew had to be good already being Zangetsu but he was on par with her with the both of them going all out against one another without using their blades special abilities. She had been training with Haineko for twelve years, ever since the blade chose her as its wielder when she was eight. From what Naruto told her, he also started training when in kenjutsu when he was eight but being that good already was scary. She was glad for his skill as well though, she was sure he'd need it in the future. If only she knew how right she was.

Currently Team Eleven was heading to Hokage Tower inform the Hokage of the completion of their latest D-Rank. Rangiku also decided to request a C-Rank. It was time for her team to be blooded.

Mission Assignment Room

Hiruzen looked at the team assembled before him from behind the desk he and Iruka shared. Rangiku was standing to the left of Naruto who was in the middle spinning his combat knife with his right index finger by the ring he placed on it on the edged side of the guard (Similer to Kensei Muruguma's Shikai). Yourichi was on Naruto's right with their mission objective purring and curled up into her arms. Yourichi always had that effect on cats. Rangiku was similar to Yoruichi in that regard and as for Naruto, well even cats know that there are some people you just don't fuck with. Tora had the same reaction with Kushina when she was a child.

"Here's Tora Lady Tsubara" Yoruichi said as she handed to cat to the Daimyo's wife. The instant the cat left her arms it became a feral mass of fur and claws, hissing, spitting and swiping at anything unfortunate enough to be in range before being crushed by the hug it was being given by the large woman. "Tora-chan I missed you" she tearfully exclaimed as she clutched the poor feline against her chest with such force that it's eyes were bulging out of it's head and the breath was knocked from it's lungs before she left the room. _"Poor little bastard"_ was the one sentence in everyone's mind as they watched her leave.

"Well done Team Eleven, you currently hold the record for catching Tora at twenty minutes. We'll have your mission pay wired into your accounts tomorrow" the Hokage said proud of his surrogate grandchildren and a little jealous. That damn mission had been around since the beginning of the village and the quickest his team had ever finished was two days, four hours. Stupid devil cat.

"Thanks" the team replied happily.

"Hokage-sama I would like to request a C-rank mission. I think it's time to blood my genin" Rangiku stated solemnly, all traces of her usually cheerful disposition absent from her tone.

"Are you sure they're ready Rangiku-chan?" Hiruzen asked her seriously.

"Very, and it has to be done at some point anyway".

"Very Well. This a C-Rank bandit camp elimination mission. The bandit camp is three days travel from here to the east. Further details are in the scroll" Hiruzen said, handing her the scroll.

Rangiku took the scroll and put it into one of the pouches on her waist. She then bid the Hokage goodbye and left the room with her genin in tow.

"Rangiku-sensei what did you mean by 'blooding' us?" Yoruichi asked her.

"'Blooding' is the term used to describe the mission a genin team is taken on by there Jonin-sensei so that they may have their first kill" Naruto answered her, saving Rangiku having to answer the awkward question, something she sent him a grateful look for.

"So on this mission we're going to take our first lives" Yoruichi said.

"No, you're going to be blooded Yourichi-chan. I've already killed" Naruto told her.

"When have you killed someone Naruto?" Rangiku asked him seriously.

"It was on a mission with Kakashi from the old man. We had to take out a bandit camp just like this one" Naruto told her.

"What's it like, killing someone" Yorichi asked them quietly.

"I'm not gonna lie to you Yoruichi-chan, you'll feel terrible about it and it's not something that gets any easier as you go on. That's one thing about it. But don't worry, you're strong and as long as you don't take any pleasure in it you'll be alright" Rangiku informed her.

"Just keep in mind that some people need to die for others to be safe ok" Naruto told her.

"Thanks" she told them gratefully.

"No problem. Now I'd like both of you to be at the village gates in an hour ok? Rangiku informed them before she left in an ash shunshin. Naruto and Yoruichi looked and nodded before they both disappeared via shunpo.

Naruto reappeared before his apartment door. He quickly unlocked the door and disabled his security seals and went inside. He walked into his bedroom before opening up his bedside cabinet and took out a scroll from it. It contained two weeks worth of essential supplies for a mission. Kunai, ramen, shuriken, a tent, ninja wire, extra ramen and a metric shit ton of explosive tags of his own design. He slipped the scroll into his kunai pouch before walking out his apartment, locking the door and reactivating the security seal. He then walked to Ichiraku's Ramen stand, intent on having some lunch before he left on the mission.

Naruto walked into the stand and was delighted to see a familiar mane of auburn hair. "Hey Mei-chan, how's life as Kiri's ambassador been treating you?" Naruto asked her as he sat on the stool beside her and ordered a quick bowl. Once Yagura had gotten wind of the events that happened to Mei's team he had been delighted to find out that Mei was still alive. Upon hearing that she had been treated in Konoha hospital he decided to make Mei an ambassador between the two villages. He knew she would need some time off after the incident and so decided it would be a good idea to make her an ambassador between the villages. No intensive work and she would be treated well as well. Konoha and Kiri were currently in a non-aggression pact with one another but Yagura hoped that having Mei there would them improve relations between the villages and build up the trust needed for a possible alliance between the two villages. It was win-win situation as far as he was concerned.

"It's been pretty good so far. How are the D-Rank going?" she asked him.

"That was mean Mei-chan" he said with a pout that soon disappeared once the bowl of ramen was put before him.

"Sorry, couldn't resist Naruto-kun" she told him with a smirk as he dug into his bowl with gutso. Naruto nodded his head, accepting the apology.

"So have you done any interesting missions yet?" Mei asked him.

"Not really, but my team is headed out on C-Rank bandit extermination now" Naruto told her.

Mei eyes widened on hearing that. "Seriously, this early?" she asked incredulously.

"Yeah, Rangiku-sensei decided it was time for Yourichi-chan to get blooded" he told her, and she could hear the sense of worry creep into his tone.

Mei picked up on this and comforted him. "Don't worry about it, Yoruichi-chan is strong. I'm sure she'll be able to get through it. Besides she has you and Rangiku-chan to help her" she told him while smiling warmly at him. Mei had also met with his sensei and the two became good friends as well.

"Thanks Mei-chan" he said and stood up having finished his bowl and paid Teuchi. "I'll be back in a week or two ok". He turned to leave and felt something wet pressed against his cheek and two soft mounds pressed against his back. He turned back to Mei and returned the hug, her auburn hair was covering her face that was lit up a brilliant scarlet, something she was eternally grateful for. "Stay safe Naruto-kun" she told him quietly.

"Of course Mei-chan, I'll see you in a week" Naruto told her as he gave her a light kiss on the forehead and let her go, prompting her cheeks to darken to a shade of red remarkably similar in colouration to a tomato. He then departed the ramen stand leaving a busty, blushing bombshell and an amused old man behind.

By the time Naruto arrived at the village gates both Yoruichi and Rangiku were already there, waiting for him.

"Sorry if I kept you waiting, I just had to get a quick bowl of ramen from Ichiraku's and ran into Mei-chan " Naruto told them apologetically.

"It's alright Naruto-kun" Rangiku told him. "At least you're not as bad as Kakashi. Now let's go. The bandits have been raiding a local village, so we'll head there first and see if can get any information about our target. With a bit of luck we should get there by tomorrow evening" she stated and with that said Team Eleven set towards their destination.

Three days later, Hotel Room in Sakura Village

Naruto, Yoruichi and Rangiku were gathered in their hotel room and were currently planning their assault of the bandit camp. From what they had gathered from the locals during their afternoon investigations the bandit camp was about two miles out of the village. Rangiku also had Naruto scout the camp as he was the best at stealth and sensing while she and Yoruichi talked with the local people about the bandits. He reported that they were approximately numbered in the fifties. Nothing that they couldn't handle, some well placed explosive tags and kunai throws should do the job.

No, what could be difficult was the missing nin leading them that Naruto discovered while he was of sneaking into the camp. Luckily enough it appears the nin was paranoid due to fact that not a single one of his underlings appeared to be able to use chakra or jutsu based on what the townspeople told them and what Naruto sensed from them.

The plan was as follows. Yoruichi would sneak into the camp that night to free the women the bandits had kidnapped during their previous raids of the village and kill any bandits in the way. She would then guide them to a clearing near the camp they had marked as the rendezvous point while the bandits were distracted by Naruto's activation of the explosive tags that he had placed throughout the camp during his little excursion. The explosive tags were mainly clustered at the eastern edge of the camp to draw the attention of the bandits away from the western edge of the camp where the prisoner's tents were located. Once the prisoners were safely in the clearing with Rangiku, she would join Naruto in the fight. Rangiku would be on standby in the clearing in order to look after the prisoners and observe how they both handled the bandits and step in if one of them was in trouble.

"So, are we clear on everything?" Rangiku asked them seriously.

"Yeah, Rangiku-sensei" they answered her.

"Good, then let's head out and remember push your chakra in three short bursts into the alarm seal on your wrists if you're in trouble". The alarm seal was an invention of Naruto's that allowed those fitted with the seal to know the status of others.. One long pulse was an enquiry into your current status. One short burst meant everything was going well, two short bursts meant you were having difficulties and put everyone on standby to come to your aid and three short bursts meant you needed help fast.

"And Yoruichi-chan don't forget to signal Naruto to activate the explosive tags once the prisoners are secured" Rangiuk told her and got a nod in response.

Later that nigt in the bandit camp

Yoruichi kept close to the shadows as she crept through the bandit camp to the tent where Naruto told her the women were located. As she came to a gap between two rows of tents she heard the voices of two men growing louder as they came closer to her and quickly ducked into the entrance of a nearby tent and listened in on them.

"Hey, when do you reckon the boss will let us have a go at the prisoners".

"I dunno but I hope it's soon. He'll probably let us take our pick of them once he's had his own".

"Yeah".

The bandit's voices faded as they move out of earshot and Yoruichi scowled at what she heard them say. That's not to say she wasn't relieved that the prisoners were untouched but she hated to hear women talked about that, like they were objects. She shook her head to dispel those thoughts and continued on towards her destination.

She soon arrived at her destination and cautiously poked her head inside. There was a large steel cage lying against the opposite wall of the tent. Inside said tent there was about thirty women ranging from age fourteen to age fourty and all of them were in ripped clothing with tear tracks clearly visible on their dirty faces. There was also a single guard sitting on a wooden chair and he wasn't even facing the only entrance into the tent. Instead he was facing the women in side the cage with a perverted leer on his face as his eyes roamed their bodies and had a bottle of sake clutched in his right hand. What sort of idiot was he? Oh well, it was merely a mistake that made it easier for her to ensure it would be his last.

As she emerged from the shadows of the entrance the eyes of the women in cages widened but they stayed silent once they saw Yoruichi press a finger to her lips and point towards the guard and they gave a small nod. This small gesture however was lost on the bandit who was either too drunk, too unobservant or just too damn stupid to notice.

Yoruichi reached into the pouch on her thigh and pulled out a kunai. She snuck up behind the bandit, took a deep a breath to steel herself and dragged the blade across his throat, opening up red line as his eyes widened and with her free hand covered his mouth to muffle his screams. Soon he was still and silent and when Yoruichi removed her hand from his mouth, he slumped to the floor, the bottle of sake in his hand rolling across it and hitting the bottom of the cage. Yoruichi felt a sense of horror and revulsion come across her as the full extent what she had just done hit her before her eyes hardened as she remembered the words of her team earlier as well as the words of the bandits whose conversation she had overheard. Naruto was right, for the majority to be safe, some people just needed to die.

She quickly searched the dead bandit's corpse for the keys and found them in his pocket. She then moved over to the cage and unlocked the doors before stepping aside as the women moved out of it. Once they were all gathered before her she told them to follow her to a clearing where they would be looked over by her sensei Rangiku. Seeing them nod she crouched down and went over to the entrance and sent Naruto the signal in the form of four short bursts of chakra channeled into the seal before sneaking out of the tent with the women following her. Not a single second after the signal was sent the sound of explosions echoed from across the camp and large plumbs of fire could easily seen climbing into the sky, mainly concentrated at the eastern edge of the camp, and Yoruichi saw the bandits unharmed by the explosions being drawn towards the apparent source of commotion like moths to a flame. Seeing the odd looks she had garnered from her followers she merely shrugged. "What can I say, my teammate loves explosions" she told them. The sure simplicity of this statement prompted a mass sweatdrop form the former captives before they all looked at one another and shrugged, then followed their savior as she led them out of the camp.

* * *

Naruto laughed as he danced through the strikes of the five bandits that he was facing, bathed in the light of the fires burning throughout the camp as well as the blood of those that stood before him and met their end. He may not relish killing people but that didn't mean he wouldn't enjoy any fight he was in. He would also take pleasure in the knowledge that a few more of these scum no longer walked the earth. Plus being a Jinchuuriki has a tendency to desensitize you to killing people.

One bandit let loose a battle cry as he brought down his Nodachi in an effort to bifurcate him. It turned out to be a wasted effort as Naruto nimbly stepped to the side, moved in behind him and plunged his blade through the bandit's back, piercing the spine, its black blade emerging coming from his stomach like the horn of some shadowy demon.

Another bandit took this as his moment to strike from behind seeing as Naruto's daito was otherwise engaged for the moment. Without batting an eyelid Naruto swiftly drew his combat knife, flipped it into a reverse grip and swung his left arm backwards and upwards, driving it up through the hollow of his opponents throat and into his brain, killing him instantly. The whole maneuver took less than a second.

Naruto quickly removed both his blades and sheathed the knife before pulling out a kunai and throwing it at another bandit nailing him right between the eyes.

The other two bandits, upon seeing their comrades fall so easily decided to run, not that it would do them any good. Naruto held out his gauntleted left hand and pointed his index and middle fingers at one of the fleeing bandits. "Raiton: Byakurai (Lightning Style: Pale Lightning)" he intoned and a blue bolt of lightning shot from his fingertips and pierced through the bandits chest. He turned to repeat the process but before he could saw the silhouette of someone appear before the bandit and heard a familiar voice shout out "Futon: Kaze No Yaiba (Wind Style: Wind Blade)" and he saw the shimmering blade of wind separate the bandit's head from his neck, showing the grinning face of Yoruichi Shihouin before she moved to be at his side via shunpo.

"Nice of you to join me" he told her with a grin.

"Sorry about that, I kind of got sidetracked by a few bandits. And more importantly, you still haven't shown me how to do that yet" she said him with an adorable pout on her face, talking about Byakuri, a jutsu he invented about a week ago. She thought it was brilliant and was desperate to learn it.

"I know, I will when we get back ok".

"Ok".

"How are you holding up" he asked her, concerned.

She sighed and turned to him. "I'll be alright but I need a few days to sort my head out after this ok. What you told me earlier helped though".

"Good".

"Are the many left?" she asked him tiredly.

"Just the leader, there were fifty in total. The tags took out twenty, I took out nineteen and I presume you took out ten" he told her and saw he nod at her own kill count.

" So you two are the ones who took out my camp, guess I'll just have to take your lives as reparations" a voice called out behind them.

They turned saw and saw the bandit leader. He was a rather unremarkable man with low chakra reserves, white hair, Konoha chunin attire and a scratched out Konoha headband.

"Mizuki-teme, that you? I heard you went missing-nin but I didn't believe you were that thick " Naruto remarked in obvious delight upon recognizing his former teacher at academy.

"Kyuubi-gaki?" Mizuki asked him incredulously, then started laughing maniacally thinking he could finally kill Naruto after all these years. (Stupid bastard. Pricks like him never beat the main character, only badasses like Itachi can do that. And even then the hero usually comes back stronger than ever and proceed to have an epic battle with him before finally beating him).

"Can I handle him Yoruichi-chan" Naruto asked her eagerly.

"Yeah go ahead, I'm gonna meet up with Rangiku-sensei" she told him before vanishing via shunpo.

"See you in hell demon" Mizuki screamed as he charged Naruto, having transformed into some tiger-like abomination after downing some weird purple liquid from a test tube, obviously forgetting what happened last time he tried something like that.

Naruto didn't though, and grinned as he charging his chakra into Zangetsu, cloaking the blade in ebony, rimmed crimson chakra, obviously looking forward to a repeat performance. This was going to be _so_ fun.

"Getsuga Tensho" Naruto roared as he swung his blade, firing the devestating arc of chakra at him at him.

Mizuki didn't stand a chance.

His body was obliterated in ensuing explosion, leaving only a charred but still recognizable head behind. Wouldn't want lose out on the bounty after all, however low it may be.

He quickly sealed the head in a scroll and vanished in a shunpo, reappearing in the clearing, startling the women there excluding his team. The woman started to gain a slight look of lust in their eyes as they stared at him despite their former situation. Hey, hot was hot. That look was soon silenced the small but deadly amount of killing intent radiating from both Yoruichi and Rangiku. The message behind the killing intent was very simple. _"Back off, he's mine"_. And back off they did.

"Yoruichi-chan here told me you ran into Mizuki" Rangiku said to him as he reappeared.

"Yep" he answered grinning madly at her.

"You killed him didn't you" Rangiku asked and sighed as she saw him nod happily.

"Did you at least bring back the body".

"What's left of it anyway".

"Do I even want to know?" she asked him and got a quick shake of the head in response.

"Let's got then" she said as she led her genin and the women towards their homes.

Once the women were returned to husband, sons, uncles, brothers, fathers, boyfriends and friends, the team was profusely thanked by the villagers. The food they ate during their stay, as well as the costs of the hotel was covered by the villagers as their way of thanking them as well, despite the team's protests.

Three days later

"And that's what happened Hokage-sama" Rangiku told him, finishing her mission report as she and her team stood before him.

"Ok, Rangiku-chan. Naruto-kun could you please hand me the scroll containing Mizuki's remains. Once we have it verified that it truly is him the bounty will be wired into your account, as well as the mission pay for each of you" Hiruzen said and accepted the scroll Naruto handed to him.

"You'll all have a week to yourselves before you have to come here again for your next mission" the Hokage told them by way of dismissal and the team left the room before each of them separated to head to their own homes. They were tired from the mission and needed the rest, each of them intending to hit the sack once they got into their homes.

**AN: Well, this chapter was originally meant to be the start of the Wave Arc but as you can see, it didn't really work out like that. Oh well. Anyway I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, especially the fight scenes. And for those of you who want lemons, I'll try my hand at them during the Wave Arc but bare with me if they're terrible, as it'll be my first time writing them. Oh and I'd like to thank you all regarding your suggestions for titles for Naruto, I'm currently liking the sound of 'Konoha's Ebony Swordsman' but keep sending me suggestions.**

**Edited: 14 June 2013**


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. A guy called Kishimoto does. I don't own Bleach either Some lucky chap called Tite owns that.

The Eighth Swordsman

Chapter 8

Mission Assignment Room

The Sandaime looked at the team that lay before him and couldn't help the intense desire to kill something. Violently. With fire.

The team that caused this completely rational desire was Team Seven. The Hokage had just endured a rant from Last 'Loyal' Uchiha about how he as an Uchiha and an elite of the village shouldn't have had to endure the humiliation of D-Ranks with a certain banchee throwing in her worthless opinion as well. Sarutobi was at his wit's end and the council meeting that could be caused by incinerating the little fucker was the only thing staying his hand. It seemed that Kakashi was having the same problem if the hand inching towards his kunai pouch was any indication.

"I demand that you give me a C-Rank old man, I deserve one not the dobe" Sasuke sneered at the Hokage arrogantly. Hiruzen's eyes narrowed at that comment. Only his grandchildren, biological or surrogate could call him that.

"Listen here you little gaki, I am the Hokage, not you and what I say goes. If I say you're not ready, you're not ready so deal with it" Hiruzen told him in a tone, slightly augmented with K.I. that left no room for argument. Sasuke merely seethed at this but wisely kept his mouth shut making both Hiruzen and Kakashi sigh in relief.

"Hey old man, Aniki, what's up" a cheerful voice called from the doorway from the room. The room's occupants turned around to see Team Eleven the room. Sasuke and Sakura scowled at them, Sai just looked at them and both Kakashi's and Hiruzen's eyes softened as they landed on Naruto.

"Not much Naruto-kun/otouto" they both replied.

"So, here for a mission Rangiku-chan" Hiruzen asked her.

"Yeah" she replied.

"Alright Sasuke, if you want this C-Rank you'll have to do it with Team Eleven" Hiruzen told him getting Sasuke to scowl but nod anyway.

"The mission is to escort the client to the Land of Waves protect him until he completes the bridge he is building. Kakashi, you'll be leading this mission" he told them. "Anbu, send Tazuna in".

A moment the door opened and tanned man in his early fifties with gray hair and a bottle of sake clutched in his hand enter the room.

"Team Seven and Eleven this is Tazuna. Tazuna these Teams will be your bodyguards for the trip" Hiruzen informed him.

"Alright, I've got an emo, a banshee, a … whatever the fuck that guy is, a cyclops, a chick with a huge rack, and a little kitty cat" he said as he took stock of the group prompting a mass of glares to be sent in his direction. "What I call them like I see them" he told them with a shrug.

'What about Naruto-baka" Sakura screeched at him, making everyone wince at the sheer volume of her voice.

"He seems cool" Tazuna said getting a thumbs up from Naruto and returning the gesture.

"I like him" Naruto whispered to Yoruichi

"Of course you do, you're the only one he didn't insult" she said to him exasperatedly.

"Don't be jealous of my genius" he told her, getting her to roll her eyes at his antics.

"Alright everyone meet me at the village gates in an hour and prepare for a month-long mission" Kakashi said and left the room with his team in tow.

Village Gates-One hour later

Naruto was walking down the streets to the village gates when he saw Kakashi doing the same while reading his Icha Icha oblivious or uncaring to the glares he was receiving from the female population because of it.

"Hey Kakashi-nii, what's up".

"Not much Naruto-kun, how's it going with your team?".

"Really good, Rangiku-sensei is a master swordswoman so it's good to finally have someone to spar with. And Yoruichi-chan's my best friend" he told him. "What about your team?".

"I don't want to talk about it" Kakashi said while glaring at him.

"That bad?" Naruto asked him.

"Worse" Kakashi told him making Naruto winced as they arrived at the gates where everyone else was waiting for them and he gave Kakashi a pat on the shoulder.

"YOU'RE LATE" Sakura screeched at them.

"Sorry, we got lost on the road of life" Naruto lied smoothly making the group facefault while Kakahi had anime tears running down his face. He was so proud of his otouto right now. And damn it if Guy had a mini-me why couldn't he? Granted they wouldn't wear the matching outfits but the principle is the same.

"Well now that we're all here let's head out" Kakashi said as he led the group out of the gates and towards the wave.

On the road

The group headed for Wave were currently occupying themselves however they wanted to. Sai was smiling that creepy little fake smile of his, Sakura was pestering Sasuke for a date while being ignored by the brooding emo, Kakashi was reading his little orange book, Naruto and Yoruichi were chatting away to one another while Tazuna and Rangiku became fast friends after they discovered that they shared a mutual love of sake and were discussing where the best stake came from.

The group soon came upon a puddle and had different reactions to it. Sasuke, Sakura and Tazuna ignored it while Sai, Naruto, Yoruichi, Kakashi ad Rangiku narrowed their eyes at the puddle. _"It hasn't rained in weeks so it must be a genjutsu" _they all thought to themselves and walked by it, waiting for something to happen.

They weren't disappointed.

Two masked and cloaked figures wearing scratched Kiri headbands rose up from the puddle and charged at the two jonin-sensei. Both Rangiku and Kakashi were 'apparently' caught by surprised, as the spiked chain that connected the missing-nin by their clawed gauntlets was suddenly wrapped around them. The two figures suddenly gave an almighty wrench on the chain and the two jonin were torn apart.

"Two down" the one on the right said.

"Five to go" the one the left finished as they charged at the bridge builder.

The genin immediately sprung into action. Sai drew his tanto, Sasuke and Sakura a kunai as they got into a defensive position surrounding Tazuna. Naruto and Yoruichi however brought the fight to their opponents. Yoruichi threw a kunai at the chain connecting the two warriors and they weren't given the chance to disconnect from the chain as Naruto called out his attack and placed his palm on the chain "Raiton: Tsuzuri Raiden (Lightning Style: Bound Lightning)". Blue lightning sped from his palm at the centre of the chain down to both ends of it, stunning the brothers as it coursed through their bodies and played havoc with their nervous system. This gave Yoruichi an ample amount of time to shunpo behind both of them and knock them out with a chop to the back of the neck.

"You can come out now Kakashi-sensei, Rangiku-sensei" Naruto called out. A rustling of leaves was heard as Kakshi and Rangiku emerged from the bush that they were watching the fight, ignoring Sakura's shriek of surprise and Sasuke's raised eyebrow.

"Nice teamwork Naruto-kun, Yoruichi-chan" they both complimented them before Kakashi turned to face Tazuna who beginning to look very nervous as the lazy jonin loomed over him. While Kakashi was having a nice little chat with Tazuna Rangiku would have a conversation of her own with Demon brothers who had quickly regained consciousness.

"Now Tazuna care to tell us why, the Demon Brothers, C-Rank missing-nin from Kirigakure are after you. After all, in your mission request it stated that you were looking for protection from mere bandits while you built the bridge and made your way back to Wave. Also wouldn't you have risked being attacked by bandits to make it to the Leaf in the first place? Your mission request said nothing about missing-nin coming after you, that would make this mission at least a B-Rank. Now, tell me why you lied to us on your mission request?" Kakashi asked him in deadly tone.

Tazuna proceeded to spill his guts about the whole fucked up situation in Wave. From Gato's take over of the Wave to how the shrimp of a business man essentially made the entire nation his bitch to the bridge he was building that was the Wave's only hope. He also mentioned how his daughter and grandson would weep over his dead body and forever hate all leaf shinobi if they aborted the mission and left him to die.

Guilt trips, a total dick move but effective as hell.

"Alright Rangiku, what information did you get out of them?" Kakashi asked her as emerged from the clearing in the forest where she interrogated the Demon Brothers who were unconscious once more as she dragged along them along the ground, uncaring of any rock they hit along the way and whistling happily as she did so.

"Only that they were led by a so called 'demon' and wouldn't sell him out. For missing-nin they have a surprising sense of honor" she told him. "You'll need someone like Anko or Ibiki to get anything something substantial out of them. Interrogation isn't my specialty or yours for that matter".

Kakashi sighed and nodded, he expected as much. "Alright then, well you guys it's up to you" he told the genin.

"Huh" was the general response he got from the group.

"What do you want to do? Do you want to continue the mission or head back home" he elaborated with Tazuna looking anxious in the background.

Sasuke nodded, eager at the chance to test himself with Sakura immediately following suit, all worry for her life immediately cast aside in her newest effort to please the Uchiha. Pathetic. Sai also nodded, he figured it would be a good chance to gather information for Danzo-sama on Naruto and his abilities. Yourichi was next in line with a grin on her face and a determined glint in her eye as she told the two jonin she couldn't leave the wave in the state it was in, getting a grateful look from Tazuna and a subtle nod of approval from Rangiku.

Naruto was last to answer and did so in his usual manner.

"Of course I'm in. It sounds like it could a bit of fun and I've never been able to turn a blind eye to someone suffering" Naruto told the group with Tazuna's shoulders visibly sagging in relief at his statement.

"Alright, looks like we keep going, just let me send a message to the Hokage to inform him of the change of mission circumstance and to have him send some Anbu to collect the Demon Brothers" Kakashi said and took out a scroll and wrote a message to the Hokage before summoning Pakkun telling him to give it to the Hokage. While Kakashi was doing this Rangiku tied the brothers to a tree with ninja wire.

Once everything was sorted out the group set off once more, though they were much more on guard, forming a close-knit diamond formation with Tazuna being in the centre.

A few hours later

The group headed for Wave were currently on two boats were being rowed into Wave country as they were hidden from any and all possible observers by the mists that obscured the area. Due to the large amount of people the seating arrangements were somewhat strained. Sasuke, Sakura and Sai were in one boat being steered by one of Tazuna's workers while Kakashi, Tazuna Naruto, Rangiku and Yoruichi sat in the other, steered by another one of Tazuna's workers. Both boats were only meant to fit three people, excluding the rower. Said limited boat capacity led to Naruto's current situation. Though that's not to say he wasn't thoroughly enjoying every last second of it. Yorichi and Rangiku were currently sitting on his lap, with his head sandwiched between their chests as they hugged him to ensure they didn't fall off the boat because the waves that were striking it. No one believed them for a second as they all knew they were merely using it as an excuse to get closer to the dark haired subject of their affections. Rangiku surprised herself when she suggested the seating arrangements but couldn't help her delight when it was accepted and then enacted, her feelings for Naruto were quickly developing the more time she spent around him, and her occasional teasing of him was starting to take on a wistful edge to it.

Yoruichi was also surprised by the suggestion though pleasantly so. She had her suspicions of her sensei's affections for her teammate and this only confirmed them. She had no problem with sharing the swordsman however, as she had long ago realized that Naruto would be subject to the C.R.A. and honestly, with the shit that Naruto went through when he was younger he deserved all the love he could get. So far she only knew that Mei, herself and Rangiku were infatuated with him and she wondered who else would become her fellow harem sisters. Inside Naruto's mind Kyuubi and Zangetsu sneezed as did a certain buxom blond in Kumo.

Naruto meanwhile was meanwhile thoroughly enjoying the pleasurable sensations of their mounds press against him as he struggled not get a hard on that would no doubt alert the girls to his arousal, a task made difficult by the images being sent his way by his tenants of him taking the women resting on his lap as well as Mei and themselves and having his way with them. Damnable vixens.

The other males on the his boat were mentally ranting about what a lucky bastard he truly was with Kakashi once again feeling proud of his otouto for snagging the beautiful duo as well the new ambassador from Kiri.

All good must things must come to an end however as Rangiku and Yoruichi got up from his lap, albeit reluctantly so they could disembark. Once they were all clear of both boats and the rowers slipped into the mist once more, the group got back into formation and continued onwards.

They were coming to a clearing where the mist clung to the trees when Naruto heard the sound of a bush rustling a flung a kunai towards it. He then went to see if he hit his target only to find a snow white rabbit, cowering, tears in its eyes with the kunai right above the ears pressed flat against its head.

"Shit my bad" he said a he stowed away the kunai into his pouch and took the rabbit up into his arms a brought it back into the group. The rabbit was immediately from Naruto taken by Yoruichi who hugged it to her chest and noticed a collar around its neck.

"The collar says its name is Chappy".

Kakashi barely heard her however as his mind was going into overdrive. _"The rabbit has a white coat and yet it's spring when its coat should be brown. It must have been raised indoors which means it was used for a substitution…". _His eyes widened as finished the train of thought.

"EVERYONE, GET DOWN" he roared as he tackled Sakura and Tazuna to the ground. His actions were mirrored by Sai and Naruto, the former tackling Sasuke and the latter tackling Rangiku and Yoruichi. They were just in time as a massive Zanbatou flew over their heads and impacted with a tree.

Naruto found himself with his head resting on something extremely soft and opened his eyes to his head buried in Rangiku's cleavage and looked up to see the woman smirking in a sultry fashion at him.

"Now, now Naruto-kun if you wanted to feel them you just had to ask me" she told him huskily, making his face match his eyes in colour. Naruto immediately sprung up off her trying to ignore he comment of how much she was enjoying that. Yoruichi sprung up not long after in a similarly flustered state.

Why, you ask?.

Well once Naruto realized where his head lay another part of his anatomy sprung to life. A part that Yoruichi through no fault of her own was fortunate or unfortunate enough to have her hand resting on, giving her a rough estimate of it's size that left her drooling as she thought of what he could do to her with it. Needless to say, it left her face bright red although her dark skin made it less noticeable, something she was truly grateful for. In fact only Rangiku noticed. She grinned at her student's embarrassment as well as the dazed expression on her face as she had her suspicions as to why she was so flustered and would interrogate her the second they were alone together.

They got back on their feet just in time to see a figure appear on the land on the blade's hilt as a new wave of mist started to enter the clearing. He was tall, pale and muscular with short spiky black hair, brown eyes and bandages covering his mouth. He was shirtless, the only piece of clothing on his chest being a belt no doubt used the holster the blade he was standing on. He also wore baggy pants with a standard Kirigakure pinstritped pattern and arm and leg warmers. His status as a missing-nin was revealed in the form of the scratched Kiri headband worn on his forehead.

"Zabuza Momochi, A-Rank missing-nin, former member of the Seven Shinobi Swordsman of the Hidden Mist and legendary Demon of the Hidden Mist" Kakashi said calmly as he drew a kunai, everyone else doing the same as they got into position bar Rangiku and Naruto who drew their blades. His eyes widened slightly upon seeing Haineko and almost jumped out of their sockets when he saw Zangetsu. His search was finally over it seemed, though that could wait until his business with Gato was finished.

"Kakashi of the Sharingan and Rangiku of the Crimson Ash, it's no wonder why the Demon Borthers failed their mission" he said as he jumped to the ground and removed Kubikiribocho form the tree effortlessly and rested the blade on his shoulder and stared at the group waiting to begin dramatic showdown.

Well it would have been dramatic if not for Naruto's next comment.

"Hey Yoruichi what would you rate that entrance" Naruto asked her, prompting a mass facefault from everyone, even Haku who nearly fell from the tree she was quietly observing the showdown from, ready to help Zabuza if needed. She also had Chappy in her arms, having gotten back her pet rabbit in the confusion that surrounded Zabuza's entrance.

"I'd give a nine point five out of ten" she told him. "The mist was nice touch".

"Yeah, I'd have to agree" he replied.

"Do they do this often?" Zabuza asked Rangiku incredulously and got a sheepish grin in return.

"Yep, but that's what makes them fun" she told him, the warmth of her tone not reaching her eyes. Eyes trained on his blade.

"I don't suppose you'd hand the bridge builder so I can kill him and be on my merry way" he asked them hopefully and got a no in response.

"Oh well, looks like I'll just have to take you all out" he said before making the several handsigns needed for his favourite technique. "Kirigakure No Jutsu" he called out and a dense mist enshrouded the area once more, anything further than six feet away in a thick blanket of fog.

"Everyone be on the look out he's a master of the Silent Killing technique" Kakashi warned them.

"Eight vital points, larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, subclavian artery, kidneys, heart. Now which will be my attack point" Zabuza voice came from the mist, seemingly from every direction making it impossible to pinpoint his exact location.

As Zabuza's KI started to flood the area everyone had their own reactions to it. Tazuna looked like he was on he verge of pissing himself, Sakura already had and passed out, Sai's eyes narrowed as he dropped his fake smile, Yoruichi grimaced and tightened her grip on both of her kunai, and the only reaction from Rangku and Kakashi was a slight hardening of their eyes. Sasuke was trembling as he raised his kunai to his throat, the pressure was of Zabuza's KI suffocating. It was unlike anything he had ever felt before, he couldn't take it any more.

He was stopped however (a true shame in this humble author's opinion) by Naruto.

"Oi, Uchiha man the fuck up and grow a pair. If a little killing intent is gonna scare you, you might as well continue and save Itachi the effort" Naruto told him and got the desired with the Uchiha stiffening then nodding and getting back into his stance. He then raised his own K.I. relieving the pressure on their little group and was rewarded with grateful looks that let him know he succeeded before he pulsed out his chakra and dispelled the mist.

"Nice speech gaki, too bad it won't do any of you any good" Zabuza said as he reappeared in their midst of their group. Kubikiribocho was already on its deadly path, intent on bisecting the bridge builder. Zabuza waited for the sweet sound of metal cleaving through flesh.

Instead he heard the harsh clang of blades colliding.

He looked up and was temporarily stunned to see Naruto not only holding him off with Zangetsu and but pushing him back as well. No one but Kisame had done that. Naruto took advantage of his opponents temporary shock and his leg snapped out with savage accuracy and nailed him in the chest, sending the Demon soaring back before Zabuza turned his unplanned flight into a back flip and landed lightly on his feet, impressed with the kid's power. That kick hurt like hell.

"Not a chance, No-Brow" Naruto said, adding insult to injury.

He growled as he charged forward, intent on getting the gaki back for the kick and comment. He swung his blade at the boy once more and was blocked by Kakashi's kunai this time. Mismatched eyes glared at him, one black, the other blood red with three black tomoe spinning lazily inside it.

'Your fight is with me Zabuza" Kakashi told him.

"And me" Rangiku added helpfully as she swung at Zabuza from over head forcing him to leap back lest he be cut in half.

"Let's go then" Zabuza said as five mizu bushins formed beside him before going to clash blades with Raniku as the original fought Kakashi.

With Rangiku

Rangiku ducked as one of the mizu bushins swung at her horizontally before going into a low spin with her blade held parallel to the ground, swinging at it's legs and cutting them clean off making the bushin fall to the ground as a puddle of water. She then swung at another bushin, bisecting and dispelling it.

She cursed as she saw the reflection of two more bushins thrusting their zanbatou's at her from behind in the reflective surface of the blade of her katana and leaped to the side dodging both though not without injury as a large gash was opened up on her left arm and bled profusely, drenching the black sleeve of her t-shirt.

She ran through several one-handed handsigns before calling out her technique. "Katon: Hosenka (Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Flower)" she yelled as she launched several small fireballs at the bushins, destroying them.

She turned around to look for her final opponent only to find the bushin's leg bury itself into her stomach, sending her flying into the lake. Rangiku broke the water's surface. Water that felt oddly heavy to her, She heard a splash as she saw Kakashi land beside her and Zabuza and his bushin shunshin and stand above them already finishing their handsigns.

"Suiton: Suiro (Water Style: Water Prison)" they said as he and his bushin held their arm out above their intended targets.

"Fuck' they both said as the dome of water formed around them.

With Kakashi- A few moments ago

Kakashi cursed as another cut appeared on his arm from where deflected the strike from Zabuza that merely nicked him instead of removing the limb like Zabuza hoped for. Kakshi closed in on Zabuza once more with his kunai, stabbing at his chest, a stab Zabuza caught before smashing Kakashi in the stomach with a brutal roundhouse kick launching him into lake.

Back with Rangiku and Kakashi

Both Zabuzas had the jonin-senseis trapped and formed three mizu bushins to deal with the genin.

"Run away with Tazuna and forget about us. The client is all that matters now go" Kakashi and Rangiku roared from their prisons at the unmoving genin.

"That's an order, now run" Kakashi yelled upon seeing them remain stationary.

He got matching grins from Naruto and Yoruich as a response.

"Can't do it, aniki. Remember what you taught me. 'Those who break the rules are trash, this is true, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash'" told him with a grin and got an eyesmile in response from Kakashi.

"Alright otouto but be careful" Kakashi told him.

"No promises" Naruto replied with smirk before he ran at the bushins joined by Yoruichi.

Yoruichi came at her target with incredible speed and swung her dual kunai at him. She was blocked by the huge zanbatou the bushin wielded. Yoruichi was soon forced to leap back, unable to match the bushin's superior physical strength before she came at him once again ducking and sliding underneath the horizonal swipe aiming to separate her body in two at the waist and swung at the bushin's leg, making the bushin jump back. Yoruich attacked once more and the bushin tilted his head back to avoid the incoming blow aiming for his neck.

What the bushin failed to noticed however was the wind chakra coating the kunai and extending its reach. This mistake proved to be a fatal one as the bushin's head was separated from its body before turning back into water. Yoruichi turn around to see Naruto decapitate the last bushin, noticing the watery remains of the other bushin pooled at his feet.

They both turned around to face the original Zabuza who had his non-existent eyebrows raised from the surprising amount of skill displayed by the genin.

Yoruichi sent a shuriken at the bushin who held Rangiku prisoner. The bushin lazily side-stepped the deadly projectile. Unfortunately for Zabuza however mizu bushins didn't have the same memory transfer capability of kage bushins and another bushin fell prey to another of Yoruichi's wind chakra enhanced weapons. The water prison that held Rangiku fell back into the lake like the bushin, freeing the buxom beauty.

Naruto meanwhile threw a kunai that Zabuza ducked under, avoiding the threat. Or so he thought. The kunai disappeared in a puff of smoke as did the Naruto on the shore, revealing the kunai to be the real Naruto and one who threw it a mere clone. Naruto swung Zangetsu by her chain in a circular motion, giving the image of a black fan before throwing it with the chain extending as it traveled at Zabuza's torso, forcing him to jump back lest he be pierced by the black blade. The water prison that held Kakashi fell apart the second Zabuza's arm left it, freeing the silver haired jonin.

Naruto quickly grabbed his sensei and shunpo'd back to the shore, leaving Kakashi to face Zabuza alone.

The two warriors on the water's surface flew through hand signs finishing at the exact same time. "Suiton: Suiryuudan (Water Style: Water Dragon)" they both yelled and the two water dragons collided with each other before they broke apart, a deluge of water falling on each of them.

Zabuza grew annoyed at Kakashi's mimicry. "Stop copy…".

"… ing me" Kakashi finished.

Zabuza mentally cursed as he went through his next set of handsigns but was beaten by Kakashi. _"Impossible. How can he be finish before me when he's copying me" _he mentally roared.

"It's over Zabuza" Kakashi told him coldly and then called out the fight's finisher.

"Suiton: Daibakufu (Water Style: Great Waterfall)" Kakashhi roared and a massive wave of water rose up from the surface of the lake and came at Zabuza who could only watch in horror as it hit him like a wrecking ball and swept him away. The force of the water smashed him through several trees before it came to a stop and deposited it him with his back against the tree and Kakashi appearing in a swirl of leaves above him.

"Can you see the future" Zabuza asked him in awe.

"Yeah" he replied. "You're going to die". With that said Kakashi moved in for the kill but was too late.

Two senbon came flying from the threes and hit Zabuza in the neck. His eyes widened slightly before he slumped and fell to the ground. An androgynous figure appeared kneeling next to Zabuza in a water shunshin. The shinobi's attire consisted of the standard Kirigakure pinstriped outfit that stopped at his knees a green haori with white trimmings, a brown sash around his waist and light brown sandals. The figure had black hair with two long bangs and a bun atop their head. A white and red kiri issue hunter-nin mask completed the outfit.

"Thank you for your help in taking out Zabuza Hatake-san, I have been tracking him for some time. I must now dispose of the body" the hunter-nin said, and picked up Zabuza's body before vanishing in a swirl of water.

Kakashi walked off the water and stood before the group. "Rangiku, you're in charge" he said and then collapsed. Naruto lunged forward and caught him just in time.

"Looks like I over did it" he said and passed out. Naruto sighed and lowered his headband to cover his sharingan once more. The implanted doujutsu always took a heavy toll on Kakashi. He then made two kage bushins. One to carry Kaksahi and the other to drag Sakura. "Alright Tazuna lead the way" Rangiku said and the group headed towards the bridge builders home.

**An: Alright, that's part one of the Wave Arc over and done with. Sorry for the delay. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and let me know what you thought of the fight scenes. I've also come with another title for Naruto and I think it's pretty good but it won't be revealed until the chunin exam arc as it would be a spoiler even I'm sure most people have seen it coming. Also this is the longest chapter I've written so far 5000+ words.**

**Take it handy,**

**Maverick Wilde.**

**Edited: 15 June 2013**


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. A guy called Kishimoto does. I don't own Bleach either Some lucky chap called Tite owns that.

The Eighth Swordsman

Chapter 9

Tazuna's House

It was late evening when Teams Eight and Eleven arrived at Tazuna's quaint wooden house. Naruto walked up to the front door and knocked. He was quickly answered by a beautiful bluenette with warm brown eyes wearing a pink sweater and a blue skirt.

"Otou-san, you're safe" she exclaimed upon seeing Tazuna and glomped him.

"Relax Tsunami-chan. I'm safe thanks to these fine shinobi who fought this super strong shinobi to protect me" Tazuna told her.

"Thank you for protecting my father" Tsunami said gratefully as she let go of her father and turned around to look at the people accompanying them.

"It's not a problem" Rangiku told her cheerfully.

"Please come in" Tsunami said to them and went back into her house followed by the tired group of shinobi.

"Do you have anywhere I can put him" Naruto asked Tsunami once everyone was settled down referring to Kakashi.

"Yeah, go upstairs and leave him in one of the guest rooms. It's the second door on the left" Tsunami told him and got a thank you in response as he left to bring Kakashi upstairs.

"Wait" Tsunami said making him pause on the stairs.

"What's up" he asked her.

"What about her" she asked pointing to the pink haired, flat-chested girl in a torn red dress with little twigs stuck in her hair, and patches of dirt all over her who had been dropped unceremoniously into the corner of the room once Naruto's clone puffed out of existence. There was also a stench of urine coming from her but Tsunami decided to ignore that for now.

"Eh, she'll survive" he told her with a shrug before continuing up the stairs leaving Tsumai to mirror the action before she started to finish up the seafood stew she had been preparing before their arrival.

_'Unfortunately'_ he mentally added.

Tsunami was serving up dinner when he came back down and he took his place at the table. Dinner was a quiet affair that evening with everyone going to bed soon afterwards. Yoruichi and Rangiku were staying in the same room with Sakura thought thankfully she was still passed out in the living room seeing as how no one had bothered to wake her.

Rangiku seeing that they were alone decided to start her interrogation. "So Yoruichi-chan, how big was it?" she asked her as they both changed into their nightclothes. Yoruichi's consisted of a purple bra that struggled to hold her substantial yet still developing bust, and purple panties. Rangiku's bra and panties were lacy white, drawing a great deal of attention to her incredible bust.

"How big was what sensei?" Yoruichi asked her curiously as she got into bed and turned round to face Rangiku who had already climbed and settled into her own.

"Now, now Yoruichi-chan. What have I told you and Naruto-kun to call me when we're off duty or relaxing" Rangiku lightly scolded her.

"Sorry, Rangiku-chan. Now what are you talking about" Yoruichi asked.

"Why Naruto-kun's sword of course. And I'm not talking about Zangetsu" Rangiku clarified with perverted grin on her face.

"You noticed" Yoruichi muttered with her face glowing bright red, her mocha skin doing nothing to hide the blush this time.

"Yep, don't worry though. I'm the only one who noticed when you copped a feel" Rangiku told her.

"I didn't cop a feel" Yoruichi yelled indignantly at her.

"So your hand just so happened to be placed at his crotch" Rangiku deadpanned and got a quick nod in response.

"Well, now that you know what I'm talking about how big was he" she asked her with Yoruichi spacing out a bit as she thought about it.

"That big huh?" Rangiku asked, impressed.

"What makes you say that?" Yoruichi asked, still dazed.

"You're drooling" Rangiku told her with a smirk. Yoruichi cursed as she wiped up the small amount of spittle from her mouth while Rangiku roared with laughter.

"He's nine inches" Yoruichi told her, immediately quieting her laughter.

"Fuck, imagine what he could do with that to us with that thing" Rangiku said quietly.

"Us?" Yoruichi asked, a vulpine smirk coming onto her face as a blush that would have made Hinata proud bloomed across Rangiku's own.

"Damn" Rangiku muttered.

"Aw, sensei has a crush on Naruto-kun" Yoruichi teased.

"And you don't?" Rangiku replied getting Yoruichi to shut up and an awkward silence settled into the room for a while.

"Touche. I'm pretty sure Mei-chan is in love with him as well" Yoruichi said eventually breaking the silence.

"Yeah" Rangiku muttered.

"Good thing he's subject to the C.R.A." Yoruichi added.

"He is?" Rangiku asked her, momentarily stunned.

"Yep. His dad is the Yondaime after all" Yoruichi informed her, making her facepalm.

"How did I not see that? When he was younger he was practically a chibi-Yondaime" she asked herself.

"I know how you feel. I was the same way when he told me".

"So, you don't mind sharing him?" Rangiku asked her after a while.

"Not really. Plus I've known for a while that he was going to be in the C.R.A. so I've grown used to the idea. What about you?" Yoruichi asked her.

"I don't mind as long as he looks after all of us equally" Rangiku replied.

"It's Naruto-kun, of course he will" Yoruichi stated simply and Rangiku couldn't help nodding in agreement. He just gave off that kind of vibe.

Soon after that they both went to sleep, though not before planning on how to inform Mei of their plans. They would ask her to go to the hotsprings with them soon and inform her of the situation.

With Naruto

Naruto slipped out of his clothes and armor before sealing them away as well as Zangetsu in a seal that he had on his left forearm that only responded to both his chakra and blood. He didn't like the way the Uchiha was eyeing his blade and knew he would try something eventually. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, tired from fighting earlier on in the day.

Little did he know that his night had just begun.

* * *

Inside the mindscape

Naruto appeared naked in the bedroom of the house he had created for his tenants. He took in the white wall, oak bookcase and crimson curtains before his eyes fell on the black quilted king sized bed.

And more importantly, Kyuubi and Zangetsu lying beside one another, smirking sultrily at him.

Did I mention the fact that they were completely naked?

**Lemon Warning. If you're over 18 keep reading, If you're not make sure your parents aren't around and do it anyway. If you don't want to read then skip to the next bold line of text.**

He could see every inch of them. Those toned legs that seemed to go on for miles leading up to their firm, full and rounded asses. The large mounds on their chests rising and falling with each breath, nipples standing to attention. Kyuubi's were a striking scarlet with a darker areola while Zangetsu's were a pretty shade of pink, areolas a mere shade darker. Their glistening lower lips, clean shaven and already soaked, showing their arousal if the sweet honey-like scent of the nectar leaking from them wasn't enough of an indication. This pleasing combination of sight and smell brought a hazy cloud over Naruto's mind and both biju and sentient sword could see the lust darkening his half lidded eyes

"Well Naruto-kun, are you gonna leave us all on our own?" they asked him as they rose from the bed and sashayed towards him, hips swinging from side to side and breasts bouncing with each step.

That seemed to shake Naruto out of his reverie as he moved towards them a lecherous grin creeping across his face. "Well what sort of man would I be if I did that?".

He smashed his slips into Kyuubi's own and slid his hands down her waist and on to her heart shaped ass, loving how soft and firm it felt on his fingers and gave it a squeeze. Kyuubi let loose a moan at the surprising but welcome sensation, giving Naruto the chance so slide his tongue in to her mouth. Kyuubi sucked happily on the invading appendage making Naruto groan as well. Zangetsu was not idle either as she kissed and sucked on his neck.

Naruto separated from Kyuubi and his lips met Zangetsu's as his tongue danced with her own, the wet muscles wrapped around one another. They broke apart and Naruto returned to Kyuubi as he started laying feather light kisses down her neck, gently sucking on the crook of her neck, hearing her moan his name softly in pleasure as he did so. He then moved his left hand to her left breast and kneaded it, marveling at how soft it felt and how his hand seemed to sink into it and brought his mouth to her right breast, circling his tongue around the erect nipple and on the areola before taking the rosy bud in his mouth, sucking and occasionally nibbling on it.

Kyuubi could only moan his name at his ministrations, especially when he tweaked her left nipple between his finger and thumb and gently nipped at the nipple enveloped in his mouth sending an electric tingle down her spine. Naruto soon switch breasts, using his right hand to massage her right breast while lavishing oral attention on her left. Kyuubi cooed as she felt her release building up in her core under the attention he paid to her overly sensitive breasts and came soon afterwards.

Naruto soon left her chest for Zangetsu's, sucking and nipping at one breast while he gently massaged the other, swapping breasts every a few minutes, tugging gently at her nipples with his teeth. Zangetsu came quickly with a drawn out moan under his loving his ministrations, her honey-scented nectar flowing down her thighs.

Naruto threw his head back and groaned as he felt something warm and wet run along his cock from base to tip while there was sense of suction on his sack. He looked down to see Kyuubi lathering his cock with her saliva by running her tongue along it from base to tip and Zangetsu giving his sack one last suck before her tongue joined Kyuubi's own running along his shaft. Both met at the tip and licked it like a lollipop and kissed one another with head of his cock between their lips as their wet tongues wrapped it.

They broke apart and Kyuubi took the tip into her mouth sucking heavily while swirling her tongue around the tip. Naruto moaned out her name as she started to bob her head up and down his dick. Kyuubi moaned as she did do and started humming, the pleasant vibrations driving Naruto crazy as he played with her crimson locks. She soon released the tip form her mouth with a 'pop' and he felt Zangetsu engulf his member in her own mouth. Her head bobbed up and down savoring his taste before she started to deepthroat him, swallowing him down to the base of his cock as her throat vibrated as she started humming. She suppressed her gag reflex for as long as she could before she released him from her throat, gasping for air. Naruto couldn't believe how good her throat felt as it vibrated around his member, so warm and wet.

Kyuubi saw the dollop clear liquid emerge at the tip of his cock and licked it off. She enjoyed the slightly salty flavour of his precum and she swirled it around her mouth. She kissed Zangetsu and moved the precum into her mouth with her skilled tongue. Zangetsu's eyes widened slightly as the enjoyably salty flavour settled on her pallet. They both looked as each and nodded as they separated from one another and swallowed the remaining precum. They had found their new favourite drink and wanted more. And Naruto was all too happy to oblige them.

Naruto felt himself growing harder if that was even possible at the sight of them sharing and swallowing his precum.

"Well Kyu-chan, I think it's time we pulled all the stops, don't you?" Zangetsu asked her in a seductive tone that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

"I couldn't agree more Zan-chan" Kyuubi responded in an equally seductive tone.

Naruto couldn't help involuntary shiver that crept down his spine at the sultry quality their voices had taken on, as he wondered what they had in store for him next.

Not that he was complaining or anything.

He found out just what they had in mind when he felt something incredibly soft surround his cock. He looked down and almost came from the sight alone. Zangetsu and Kyuubi grabbed their boobs and squeezed them around his member and started moving their tits up and down, the head of his saliva soaked cock occasionally poking up from their heavenly valley only to be lightly licked and sucked by Kyuubi and Zangetsu who took it in turns to lavish their oral affections on his member.

Naruto began lightly thrusting his cock up and down and needless to say he soon came under their loving ministrations. Rope after rope of cum spurted up from his cock and landed in Kyuubi and Zangetsu's waiting mouths as Naruto groaned in bliss at his orgasm as he fell back on the bed with his erection having wilted slightly at his release. Some however missed their mouths and land on other areas, primarily their chests and cheeks.

Naruto watch in awe and arousal as they swallowed what they had in their mouths and then proceeded to clean one another by licking the cum of each other's faces and chests before swallowing once more. Though not before showing him what exactly was in their mouths before gulping it down with satisfied expressions one their faces, an action that led Naruto's dick to spring to life once more.

"That was a nice appetiser but I think it's time for the main course" Kyuubi said smacking her lips as she eyed his dick before she walked towards Naruto with Zangetsu doing the same.

Kyuubi soon straddled Naruto, the tip of his cock just brushing against her outer folds making Naruto groan while she cooed softly at the incredible sensation. Naruto watched as his cock was swallowed by her warm, wet and eager pussy until he hit a barrier.

"Are sure about this Kyu-chan?" he asked with concern in his eyes as he sat up, propping himself up with his elbows. Kyuubi nodded, touched at his concern for her as she braced herelf.

Naruto quickly bucked his hips upwards and tore through her hymen. Kyuubi opened her mouth to scream in pain as she felt him fully penetrate her virgin pussy but her screams were muffled by Naruto's mouth as he kissed her while kneading her breasts in an attempt to help soothe her and help her overcome the pain with pleasure.

His attempts soon bore fruit as Kyuubi soon adjusted to his size and separated her mouth from his as she rolled her hips and grinded against him, making them both moan in pleasure at the new sensation.

Naruto was soon pushed onto his back by Zangetsu who straddled his head with her dripping slit right above his face or more importantly his mouth. Her desire was obvious and Naruto was more than happy to oblige her.

"Eat up Naru-kun" Zangetsu said with a sultry smirk and lowered herself onto his waiting mouth.

Naruto looked at the delicacy above his face with a grin before deciding to get to work. He gave a long slow lick along her slit, and deciding the taste was to his liking grabbed her by her waist and parted her outer folds with his tongue and began using said tongue explore her moist inner cavern, occasionally thrusting his tongue into her.

Zangetsu's moans grew louder before she was quieted by Kyuubi's lips upon her own as their tongues dueled and they kneaded each other breasts.

Kyuubi was bouncing on Naruto's shaft while he thrusted his pelvis upwards to meet her own as she came down and moaning in ecstasy as she and Zangetsu played with each other's breasts.

Zangetsu suddenly separated from Kyuubi, threw her head back and howled as her back arched in ecstay.

Why you ask?

Well Naruto was trailing his tongue along her dripping slit when he came upon her clit. He immediately recognised the little nub for what it was before giving it a gentle flick his tongue. Zangetsu shuddered lightly and Naruto grinned.

_"Jackpot"_ he thought with a grin before latching his lips onto her clit and sucking for all he was worth. Said action caused Zangetsu's sudden howl.

Naruto felt his end coming after a few minutes and from the way his partners' moans were growing louder and louder they were in same boat and so he decided to end each of them simultaneously.

He took a deep breath and waited for Kyuubi to come down from her latest bounce. As she did he gave a savage thrust upwards and the head of his cock burst past her cervix and into her waiting womb while biting down on Zangetsu's clit.

The effect was instantaneous. Kyuubi and Zangetsu 's mouths were opened in silent screams as their backs arched in ecstasy from their orgasms.

Naruto came as well as he felt Kyuubi's inner walls convulse, coil around and caress his cock. It was like her pussy was trying to swallow him. He came with roar as he pumped his load into her waiting womb while he greedily drunk up Zangetsu's sweet nectar.

"Fuck that was amazing" he said as he sat up beside Zangetsu and Kyuubi who could only nod in agreement. "Up for round two yet?" he asked them both huskily.

"Do you even need to ask?".

"Guess not'" Nartuo remarked as he watched them get into position. Kyuubi lying on her back on the bed with Zangetsu's mouth above her soaked and cum filled pussy. Speaking of Zangetsu she was on her hands and knees waving her perfect posterior from side to side in and effort to entice him. Naruto moved towards Zangetsu and rubbed his cock against her pussy in order to make sure he was well lubricated in order to make it as painless as possible as well as teasing her.

He eased himself into her, reveling at how tight she felt around him before he came to a halt at her barrier. He looked at her, asking her the silent question and got a nod from her as an answer as she looked over her shoulder at him. He leaned over her shoulder and kissed her before pulling out slightly and thrusting forwards, tearing through her hymen before staying completely still.

Zangetsu screamed in pain into the kiss and felt the tears building up in her eyes. She was soothed by Naruto's passionate kiss and soon felt the pain be replaced by intense pleasure. Naruto separated from her and used his thumb to wipe a tear from her eye and smiled kindly at her.

Naruto started thrusting forward slowly eliciting a soft moan from Zangetsu who soon occupied her mouth by licking away at Kyuubi's outer folds and lightly flicking at her clit with her tongue making Kyuubi join her in the erotic melody of their moans.

Naruto sped up much to Zangetsu's pleasure and marveled at the feel of her tight pussy around his cock as he pounded into her. Zangetsu moaned as she felt him continue to piston in and out of her and focused on the delicacy before her. Kyuubi moaned and caressed her breasts as she felt Zangetsu's tongue trying to scoop Naruto's cum from her cunt. Naruto knew his end coming after of pumping in and out of Zangetsu for a while longer. Zangetsu also felt the heat building up in her core signifying her coming release.

Naruto came with a roar as he gave one last hard thrust into Zangetsu and shot his seed into her womb. Zangetsu came at the sensation of him filling up her womb with his seed. She bit down lightly on Kyuubi's clit as she orgasmed as she had been lavishing her oral affections on her clit prior to her orgasm. Kyuubi writhed in pleasure as she came as well as her liquid gushed forth from her pussy along with a healthy helping of Naruto's seed that escaped her womb which Zangetsu greedily drunk up.

**Lemon over, all those under eighteen and unappreciating of lemony goodness can read now.**

Naruto pulled out of her and fell down between Zangetsu and Kyuubi on the bed. Kyuubi cuddling his right side and laying her head on his chest with Zangetsu mirroring the action but on his left side.

"I love you Kyuubi-chan and you Zangetsu-chan" Naruto said as he kissed them both on their foreheads.

"We love you too Naruto-kun" they both said and snuggled into Naruto's chest before falling asleep with Naruto doing the same not long afterwards.

* * *

Next Morning

Tsunami, Yoruichi, Tazuna, Rangiku, Sasuke, Sai, Inari and Saura were gathered round the table in the kitchen doing their morning routine. Tsunami was happily chatting away with Yoruichi, both being morning people, Tazuna was quietly nursing a hangover, Rangiku was looking around bleary-eyed as she drank a cup of coffee, she wasn't in any way, shape or form morning person, Sasuke was … do I even need to say it at this stage, Sai was doodling away in his sketchbook, Inari eating his cereal in a subdued manner as he usually did and Sakura was sulking because she was left in the room for the night and everyone was enjoying the temporary silence.

"Morning everyone" Naruto said as he entered the room with Kakashi, a shit eating grin on his face and helped the Cyclops over to the table. Tsunami smiled at them as she handed Naruto a cup of tea and Kakashi a cup of coffee that they both gratefully accepted.

"Morning Naruto-kun, Kakashi-kun/sensei" his team, Tazuna and Tsunami greeted him. Kakashi's team were still silent, something everyone else in the room was grateful for.

"What's made you so happy?" Yoruichi asked him upon seeing how good of a mood he was in.

"Just spent some quality time with my tenants that's all" Naruto said with a foxy grin on his face as took a sip of tea. The ninja in the room all nodded at that bar Sasuke and Sakura as they weren't privy to the information and Tsunami and Tazuna merely shrugged, figuring it was some super secret shinobi stuff.

Sai's ears perked slightly though at this new piece of information. Naruto was communicating with the Kyuubi and more importantly unless he was mistaken he said _tenants_. Danzo-sama needed to be informed of this upon his return. In the meantime he'd keep an eye out for anything else he could find out about Naruto.

Sai's wasn't the only ones whose ears perked though. Kakashi, Rangiku and Yoruichi were all wondering just what kind of 'quality time' would put him in such a good mood. Kakashi had his suspicions though as he noticed the _'I just had sex and it was fucking amazing'_ grin on his face. He cocked an eyebrow at Naruto who nodded to answer the unspoken question.

Kakashi immediately hugged Naruto and patted him on the back while a single manly tear fell from his revealed eye. Inside his mind there was a chibi-Kakashi proudly waving a banner around that read 'that's my otouto' and doing a victory dance. He had seen what both Zangetsu and Kyuubi looked like when Naruto showed the Hokage their appearances when he was eight and he was damn proud of him being with the two buxom beauties and on his first time no less.

* * *

Outside a Hotsprings in Kusagakure

A large man with long spiky white hair, dressed in a short green kimono, matching pants, a mesh undershirt, geta and a red haori with a horned headband with the kanji for oil etched into it and a large scroll completing the ensemble looked up from his research. Said research consisted of peeping on the local kunoichi while he was perched precariously on a branch overlooking the springs.

"I sense someone I know has been enlightened to the dark side" Jiraiya remarked. _"Who knows, maybe Naruto finally got it on with the purple haired chick he was with the last time I visited him. Yoruichi was it? She was a beauty"_ Jiraiya thought before he began giggling perversely.

Unfortunately for him, one of the kunoichi present heard him and with quick yell of pervert alerted the others in the springs to his presence.

Jiraiya fell down from his tree in shock and cowered against the trunk as the women, clad only in towels towered over him.

"Have mercy" he pleaded desperately as he looked for something to protect himself with and found it.

"Not a chance pervert" the one who spotted him said and cracked her knuckles.

"Protect me cone" he whimpered as he held the bright orange cone in front of his crotch.

It did him no good however as they fell on him like a pack of wolves, and unleashed their feminine fury upon the great and gallant Gama Sennin of Mount Myoboku in the form of a flurry of fists and feet, the vast majority aimed for his family jewels. His screams could be heard across the Land of Grass that night with all females smirking at the sound, knowing they were those of a pervert being subjected to feminine justice and all males wincing, holding their own family jewels and saying a prayer for the poor misfortunate bastard who was a source of those screams.

* * *

Back in Wave

Naruto and Kakashi separated from their hug and Kakashi told them of Zabuza'a probable survival due to the supposed 'hunter-nin' not disposing of his body at the site of his death. Rangiku nodded, having shared his suspicions and was relieved as well. It wouldn't do to have one of her fellow swordsmen die now that Zangetsu's awakened. Naruto couldn't help the manical grin that came to his face at having to fight Zabuza again. He loved fighting a strong opponent like Zabuza. Yoruichi sighed as she saw the grin on his face, that grin that never boded well for anyone. Sakura damn near pissed herself at the thought of facing that monster again even though she was passed out for the entire fight. Sasuke was delighted as he had awakened his kekkai genkai during the fight, granted he did jack shit in said fight but he was still looking forward to copying any techniques that were used during the rematch. And Sai, well Sai just nodded once before he went back to his sketchbook.

"Zabuza will likely be back at full fighting strength in a week so we'll need to train for the upcoming confrontation with him along with his accomplice. Rangiku, could you and your team stay here to keep an eye on Tazuna and his family today?. We'll set up a schedule for training when we get back" Kakashi asked her and Rangiku nodded.

"Team Seven follow me to our temporary training grounds" Kakashi said and limped out of the house on his crutches with his team following him.

"Well Team here's the plan, Yoruichi-chan, you'll accompany Tsunami on her errands, Naruto-kun, you'll guard Tazuna and I'll stay here and keep an eye on Inari and the house" Rangiku said.

"Hai sensei" they answered.

Both genin left the house soon afterward, Naruto went with Tazuna to the bridge and Yoruichi went with Tsunami to help her with her errands.

"So kiddo, I'll be taking a nap upstairs so wake up if you need me ok" Rangiku told him cheerfully and waved a hand over her shoulder at him as she made her way upstairs leaving a confused Inari to shake his head at her antics before he went back to his own room to do his own thing.

* * *

Later that night

Kakashi and his team arrived at Tazuna's house late that evening to find Tsunami setting cutlery out on the table for dinner. Soon they settled in and Tsunami dished out the food for the whole group. It wasn't long before the gather shinobi started laughing and joking around as they ate their excellent meal much to the displeasure of a certain bucket hatted boy at the table.

"Why are you all trying so hard" he muttered quietly as his shoulders were shaking with repressed emotion.

"You say something kid" Naruto asked him.

"Why are you all trying so hard when Gato will just slaughter you all. You should just give up" Inari yelled at him as his eyes started to water.

"I don't know about you kid, but I'd rather die on my feet than live on my knees. And besides I won't fall before some shitstain like Gato, I've got too much to live for" Naruto told him with a confident grin, though his good mood from last night's events was starting to leave him.

"Shut up. You'll die like everyone else who fought Gato. What do you know anyway? What do you know about suffering?" he yelled at him as stood up and he started to cry.

And with that little statement of his Naruto's mood vanished faster than the last piece of barbeque beef at an Akimichi eating contest. Everyone who knew of Naruto's life all winced at that statement. Yoruichi could feel her anger rising and Rangiku was not far behind her. Both knew what Naruto went through as a child, Yoruichi more so than Rangiku and but the fact remained that they were downright pissed off at the little gaki. Kakashi was pissed as well however he was watching Naruto carefully.

"Kid, have you ever had to live on the streets with no one to help you" Naruto asked quietly, his hair shadowing his eyes and his voice a having a slight edge to it.

"No" he muttered.

"Have you ever been so hungry that you dug through trashcans for any half rotten food you can find?" Naruto asked him, the edge in his voice being just that little bit sharper.

"No" he muttered.

"Have you ever been beaten just for looking at someone, just for being somewhere, just for existing?" Naruto asked him the edge in voice being sharper than ever, downright dangerous

"No" he said quietly.

"Then don't you dare tell me I know nothing of suffering, you little coward" Naruto told him the edge in his voice being sharper than Zangetsu herself now as he loomed over him.

Inari sat back down in his chair while Naruto sighed angrily before taking a deep breath in an obvious effort to calm himself down.

"I'll be outside blowing off some steam. Don't look for me. I'll be back when I've calmed down" Naruto said as he walked out the door and slammed it behind him with enough force to shake the entire house.

Yoruichi and Rangiku got up to go after him but were stopped by Kakashi.

"You shouldn't go after him" Kakashi said.

"Why not" Yoruichi asked annoyed that he stopped her from comforting Naruto.

"Because he needs to blow off some steam and when Naruto blows off steam the surrounding area tends to be his outlet. And unfortunately you'll probably be caught in the crossfire" he told her.

'Tch, fine. I'm going to bed" she told him and went up the stairs.

"I'll keep an eye on her" Rangiku told him and went up the stairs after her.

"Was he really treated that badly?" Tsunami asked him a shortly afterwards.

"He gave you the heavily sugar coated version" Kakashi told her, eliciting a gasp from her.

"I'm heading to bed as well" he said leaving the little family to muse over what they heard.

* * *

Forest clearing

Haku was whistling with a basket cradled in left arm as she made her way through the forest, searching for the herbs needed to speed up Zabuza's recovery. Her whistling soon stopped as a gasp escaped her mouth as she saw the devastation in the clearing. The trees were covered in slashes like they were used as scratching posts by some huge cat. Some were just cleaved in half horizontally and others had a fist-sized hole pierced through them. One edge of the clearing was black and ashy like the area had fallen victim to a localized wildfire. And there in the centre of the clearing lay the who had caused it all.

Haku crept closer to him and formed an ice senbon in her hand from the morning dew using her Hyoton. She soon recognized him as the male who disabled Zabuza's water clones and freed Kakashi. The one who Zabuza ordered her not to kill.

She sighed as she dispelled the icy senbon in her hand and reached down to his shoulder to wake him up.

Naruto yawned as he woke up, stretching with his eyes still closed. He was surprised to see a beautiful black haired girl clad in a pink kimono kneeling before him with a herb basket beside her, her chocolate orbs gazing into his crimson ones. He stood up and sheathed Zangetsu at his waist.

"Thanks for waking me up Miss…" Naruto trailed off hoping to learn her name.

"Haku, and it was no problem. Though I wonder were you responsible for the state the clearing is in Mr…" Haku asked him as she trailed off for his name.

"Naruto Uzumaki and yes I am, I kinda got carried away when I was training last night. I needed to blow off some steam" he informed her with a grin as he scratched the back of his head sheepishly in a way Haku found endearing.

"So you're a shinobi then?" Haku asked him, scouting for any information that could be useful to Zabuza.

"What makes you say that" he asked her wearily as his hand rested itself on Zangetsu's hilt.

"Your headband" she said pointing at the headband he wore as a belt.

"Oh right" Naruto said sheepishly, slightly embarrassed.

"So do you have anyone precious to you" she asked him.

Naruto was thrown for a second by the odd question and thought about it for a second before a fond smile crept across his face.

"Yes I do and I'll protect them with my dying breath" he answered her smile still in place.

"Good. I believe a person is truly strong when they are protecting someone precious to them. And if you continue to protect them I'm sure you'll grow to be a powerful shinobi" she told him with a warm smile on her own face.

"Thanks Haku-chan. So what you doing out here so early anyway" he asked curiously.

"My precious person has fallen ill recently and I'm looking for some herbs to speed his recovery" she told him and gestured towards the basket.

"Let me help you then as thanks for waking me up" he told her warmly.

"Thanks Naruto-kun" she replied and showed him what herbs to gather. They spent the next hour gathering herbs as they talked with one another. Naruto handed the ones he gathered to Haku who nodded her thanks as she placed them in her basket.

"Goodbye Naruto-kun" she said and moved to leave the clearing. "Oh and by the way I'm a boy".

"No you're not, though working for a cretin like Gato I can understand why you'd say that Haku-chan. Oh and be sure to give Zabuza my regards" he told her cheerfully.

Haku whirled around with ice senbon already formed in her hands.

"How long have you known" she asked him sharply.

"The moment you woke me up. You and Zabuza's partner have the same scent. Ice, metal and lavender. A scent as delightful as the one who radiates it" he told her and Haku felt the heat in her cheeks as she blushed despite the situation.

"So why didn't you do anything".

"I saw no need to. You clearly meant me no harm as you could have easily attempted to kill me while I slept and trusted me somewhat as you spoke with me despite our being enemies so I decided to extend the same courtesy to you" he answered her.

"Ok. I'll be going then" she told him, hoping to get back to Zabuza as soon as possible.

"Wait. Can you please pass a message to Zabuza for me?" he asked her.

"Sure what is it?'" she replied.

Naruto told her the message and she gasped but soon nodded, and left in an ice shunshin to get the message to Zabuza immediately.

"Well guess I better head back" Naruto said before vanishing in his own shunshin of crimson fire.

* * *

When Naruto arrived back at the house he immediately informed his team and Kakashi of his meeting with Haku, her apparent ability to manipulate ice based on what he saw regarding her senbon and shunshin and the message he sent to Zabuza. Kakashi groaned at the message. Only Naruto would try something like that with a infamous if he could pull it off it could prove very beneficial for Konoha.

The week passed quickly with both teams switching between training and guarding Tazuna. Tazuna also took the shinobi aside once Naruto came back from his little excursion in the forest explained that Inari was acting the way he was due to his surrogate father and 'Hero of the Wave' Kaiza being publicly executed by Gato's thugs. Soon the day of the battle with Zabuza arrived.

"Alright everyone, today's the day of Zabuza's return so be careful and stick together alright" Kakashi said.

"Shouldn't we wake up Naruto-kun Kakashi-sensei" Yoruichi asked him.

"Nah, Naruto will catch up when he wakes up" Kakashi answered her. "Let's head out" Kakashi said and left the house, soon followed by Tazuna and his fellow shinobi.

* * *

Ten minutes later

Naruto woke up to the sound of Tsunami's screams. He cursed and quickly put on his gear before he silently shunpo'd out of the room.

Downstairs one minutes earlier

Tsunami was in the kitchen washing up after breakfast when she heard someone knocking on the door.

"Inari-kun, could you please get the door?" Tsunami asked him and heard him yell an agreement.

Inari opened the door and his eyes widened as he saw the two men with katana in the doorway before he tried to run away only to be caught by the shirtless one in a rough grip.

"Kaa-chan" he screamed before the one holding him clamped a hand over his mouth.

Tsunami ran out to the front door and screamed as she saw her son held by the samurai.

Inari struggled in the shirtless one's grip annoying him. "Hey Zori can I kill the little whelp" he asked his white haired companion.

"Sure, go ahead Waraji" Zori replied uncaring, making Waraji grin as he swung his unsheathed katana Inari.

"Wait" Tsunami screamed making him stop. "If you kill him I'll bite off my own tongue and kill myself so you have no one to bring to Gato. Let go of him and I'll go with you without protest".

"Be happy you have such a great mommy kid" Waraji said as he pushed Inari forward while Zori got a hold of Tsunami.

"Come on lady. We can't keep Gato waiting" he said as he dragged her out of the house.

Inari stood still, frozen in horror as he watched Gato's thugs bring his mother away. He couldn't do anything, just like with Kaiza's execution. Naruto was right, he was a coward.

_"No"_ he thought as he ran into the kitchen and grabbed a knife from the chopping board.

_"I'll prove Naruto wrong. I'm not a coward". _

"I won't let you take my Kaa-san" he roared as he charged the samurai.

Tsunami screamed as she saw the one who held Inari earlier swiftly draw his katana and swing it at the boy.

Inari closed his eyes, expecting to feel the blade cleave him in half. Instead he heard the clang of metal and opened his eyes to see Naruto standing before him, effortlessly blocking the two handed swing from the bulky thug with Zangetsu in a reverse grip.

"Good job Inari. Now stay back and I'll save your Kaa-san" Naruto said he turned around and smiled at Inari. Inari nodded and returned the smile with one of his own, something Tsunami hasn't seen since Kaiza died.

"Who the hell are you" the thug growled as he pressed against his opponent with all of his strength in an effort to break through his guard and kill him.

"I'm the hero of course. Who else arrives in the nick of time to save the young prince and the fair maiden" he replied playfully to the thug, making Tsunami blush despite herself. "Oh, by the way you shouldn't overexert yourself against someone who is clearly stronger than you" he added helpfully.

"And why is that?" the thug growled at him.

"Something like this could happen" he told him in casual tone with a sadistic glint in his eye as he smiled darkly at him.

The thug suddenly fell forward as Naruto withdrew Zangetsu from the deadlock as he did a half-spin on his heels before he sheathed his blade in the thug's back, the tip protruding form his chest. He quickly removed his blade from the thug's spine, uncaring as the thug fell to his knees and then the floor, dead and flipped the blade into a normal grip.

He sighed and flicked the blood of his blade and looked at the remaining thug who was staring at him, frozen with fear. With his dark smile still in place he slowly advanced towards the remaining thug, who drew Tsunami close to him and held his blade to her neck.

"Come any closer and I'll slit her throat" he yelled in a deranged voice at him.

If Naruto heard him he gave no sign as he continued onwards with that slow stroll of his making the thug step backwards.

"Didn't you hear me? I said I'll slit the bitch's throat" he roared at him.

This time Naruto deigned to give him a response. "Actually, I don't think you will. And please refrain from calling Tsunami-chan a bitch in my presence".

"And why wouldn't I" he said and pressed his blade against her throat just enough to draw blood as if to emphasise his point.

"Because if you do, then there won't be anything to use as a shield against me and I will be very angry. And trust me when I say this, those are two circumstances you truly don't want to find yourself in" Naruto informed him as he kept on walking towards the thug, his eyes glinting with sadistic glee.

The thug's eyes widened as he realised the truth in Naruto's words. He panicked and threw Tsunami forward before turning to run away. Luckily for Tsunami, Naruto was close enough to catch her. Unluckily for the thug he ran right into the sword Naruto's clone was swing at his neck. His body fell to the ground as his head sailed through the air before falling into the sea that bordered the bridge builder's house.

"Arigatou Naruto-kun" Tsunami whispered as she hugged him while two clones disposed of the bodies.

"Your welcome" he replied and slipped out of her embrace. "Do you know when my team left?" he asked her.

"Twelve minutes ago" she replied and Naruto nodded once before vanishing, hurrying to get the bridge in time to get Zabuza's answer.

**AN: And I'll end it there. So there you have it you randy bastards, you finally have your lemon. Oh and to the guy who threatened to sick Ulquiorra on me, bring it on, I have my machete and I'm not going down without a fight. And to the guy who threatened me with Sakura, I had fucking nightmares about that shit, I mean fuck man I laughed through the Exorcist and Saw when I watched them but that shit was just going too fucking far. Though I am flattered that you would resort to such heinous acts to get me to update faster. Oh and sorry for the delay but the lemon took me ages to do. And this is also my longest chapter at 7183 words not including, disclaimer, title and authors note. The lemon was over 2000 words, not sure if I should be proud or ashamed of that. I think I'll go with proud though, it's a fuzzier feeling. I'm also sorry to inform you though that I probably won't update again until July due to exams that are coming up in school. I've also reached 200 reviews which I'm delighted about so I'd like to thank you all for reviewing this story and ask you to do so again. I'd also like to hear some feedback on the lemon so I know where to improve when I next write one.**

**Take it handy,**

**Maverick Wilde**

**Edited: 15 June 2013**


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. A guy called Kishimoto does. I don't own Bleach either Some lucky chap called Tite owns that.

The Eighth Swordsman

Chapter 10

Tazuna's Bridge

Naruto arrived at the bridge and couldn't help his jaw dropping at the sight before him.

The unconscious bodies of Tazuna's workers lay strewn across the mist covered bridge. Zabuza's handiwork no doubt. This isn't what surprised him, he pretty much expected something like that.

No what surprised him was the sight of Tazuna (who was twitching nervously), Zabuza, Kakashi, Rangiku, and two missing-nin from kumo judging by their headbands playing poker, Yoruichi and Haku chatting away happily, Sakura tied up and gagged, Sai doodling in his notebook again and Sasuke brooding. Who would have guessed?

_'Eh, well at least there are some things you can always count on'_ Naruto thought to himself.

"Eh Kakashi, what the fuck is going on here?" Naruto asked incredulously once his brain rebooted.

"Well, Zabuza wanted to speak with you before the battle started so we decided to play some poker while we waited" Kakashi replied without glancing back at him, too focused on the game.

"Fair enough. Next question. Why is Sakura tied up and gagged?" he asked and instantaneously all heads swiveled in his direction and looked at him, even the heads of the missing-nin, with a _'Did you seriously just ask that fucking question?'_ look on their faces. Naruto got the message quickly enough. He may have black hair now but he still had his blond moments.

Having got his non-verbal answer he went on to his follow up question. "Who did it" he asked them and Yoruichi put her hand up with a shit eating grin on her face, similar to the one he wore after kicking Sasuke's ass.

"That's my girl" Naruto proudly proclaimed and hugged her making her blush.

While Naruto was being updated on the current situation the missing-nin playing poker had gotten up and drawn their weapons and Haku moved to stand by Zabuza's side.

"Any other questions gaki?" Zabuza asked him in his usual gruff tone.

"Just one. What's your answer" Naruto asked him.

"Can you promise me that Haku will protected if I accept your offer and join the Leaf?" Zabuza asked him, his voice deadly serious and heavily laden with concern, surprising Haku who felt her eyes tear up.

"Yeah, the Hokage will keep her safe from the Council and if any of them try to go behind his back to take her I'll kill them myself" Naruto answered him.

Zabuza was silent for a while as he stared into Naruto's crimson orbs, searching for any signs of deceit and finding none, nodded once to himself as a small, unnoticeable smile crept onto his face.

"Well then, my answer is yes, but on one condition" Zabuza told him as his mouth shifted beneath the bandages from a small smile to a vicious grin.

"And what is that" Naruto asked as he drew Zangetsu in his right hand.

"You have to beat me in a duel. No ninjutsu or genjustu, just good old kenjutsu, I want to see if your worthy of that blade you're wielding" Zabuza told him.

Naruto tensed at his last remark. "How do you know about Zangetsu" he asked the Demon of the Hidden Mist as his grip on Zangetsu tightened.

"I'm one of the members of the _true_ Shinobi Swordsmen gaki, it's my business to know about that blade you're wielding" he answered in a gruff voice.

"What do mean the '_true_ Shinobi Swordsmen'?" Naruto asked him curiously.

"Wait, do you mean Rangiku hasn't told you yet?" Zabuza asked him incredulously.

"Told me what?" Naruto asked him.

"What the hell woman, that's the first thing we were told to do if we ever found Zangetsu's wielder?" Zabuza yelled at her.

"I was getting around to it ok, I was just busy" Rangiku replied sheepishly, suddenly finding her feet very interesting.

"Sensei, you challenged Tazuna, Kakashi and Tsunami to a drinking contest yesterday and passed out after you won" Yoruichi informed her.

"Not helping Yoru-chan" Rangiku told her while glaring daggers at in her direction.

"Not trying to" she replied with a grin.

"So, what has Rangiku failed to tell me?" Naruto asked him while shooting Rangiku a glare that she ignored while whistling innocently.

" Beat me and I'll tell you. I won't answer to someone weaker than me gaki".

"Well then, there's just one thing left to say" Nauto said, looking at the ground with his hair shadowing his eyes.

"Oh, and what's that" Zabuza asked him.

"Let's dance" Naruto as he looked up with an insane grin on his face, matched by Zabuza's own and charged, the harsh clang of steel on steel marking the first clash of their blades.

With the others

Kakashi and Rangiku cursed as they looked as the missing-nin before them. Kensei and Kaede Asato or as they were better known, the Sons of the Storm. Both of the B-rank missing-nin hailed from Kumo and as such both twins had the dark skin tone that Kumo was known for which created a stark contrast with their white hair. The only way to tell the two apart were the weapons they wielded with Kensei wielding a wakizashi and Kaede wielding a naginata. Both were B-rank missing-nin from Kumo and were well known for their teamwork and strong lightning affinities.

"Kakashi, you take Kensei. I'll handle Kaede" Rangiku said as she drew Haineko. Kakashi nodded gratefully and drew a kunai. The battle would be much easier if they separated and didn't give Kaede and Kensei the chance to work together. Also Rangiku would be much better equipped to fight Kaede and his naginata with Haineko than Kakashi who would have a hard time getting past Kaede's naginata and close enough to do damage with his kunai.

"Sai, guard Tazuna. Yoruichi, Sasuke you'll have to handle Zabuza's apprentice" Kakashi ordered them, conveniently ignoring the fuming Sakura still tied up against some crates on the bridge. Oh the perks of being a Jonin-sensei.

Sai nodded and calmly ushered Tazuna away from the soon to be battlefield and Sasuke immediately charged with Yoruichi grimacing and following him close behind him.

Kakashi and Rangiku soon followed the brash Uchiha's example and charged to meet their opponents. Sai meanwhile created a kage bushin once they were gone and swiftly painted several animals and summoned them from his scroll. Two lions to help him guard Tazuna and one enormous eagle that his clone hopped onto it before it took off into the skies. He'd have the clone observe Naruto's duel with Zabuza and dispel it later in private so he could report Naruto's skills to Danzo-sama.

With Sasuke and Yoruichi

Sasuke charged at Haku, his single tomoe'd spinning wildly and hands flying through handsigns.

"Katon: Goukakyuu" he yelled and launched a large fireball at Haku.

"Suition: Teppoudama (Water Style: Water bullet)" she yelled and launched an equally large bullet of water to intercept Sasuke's fireball. The two elemental projectiles clashed with a hiss as the water bullet turned to steam from the heat of the fireball.

Haku ducked suddenly and not a moment to soon as she saw Yoruichi's leg pass through the space her head previously occupied. She grabbed onto her leg and slammed her into the ground, eliciting a yelp from the girl before she swung around and threw her at Sasuke. Yoruichi however managed to right herself in mid air and vanished in a shunpo.

Haku didn't have the time to wonder where she went as she caught the first kunai from Sasuke's volley and used it to block the rest before she felt a chakra signature appear above her and leapt back not a moment too soon as Yoruichi came crashing with an chakra enhanced axe kick, dust kicking up from the point of impact

Haku's eyes widened as she saw the crater formed from Yoruichi's kick once the dust cleared, she couldn't afford to be hit with a kick like that, at the very least it would fracture bones. She lashed out with a kick that Yoruichi flipped away from before turning around and blocking Sasuke's kunai with a senbon as Sasuke pressed against her with all his might. Thanks to her training from Zabuza she didn't falter but she still couldn't afford to stay in a deadlock as she knew Yoruichi wouldn't let up on her so she flew through one handed handsigns. The steam from her water bullet began to cool and condense into a thousand needles surrounding her and Sasuke.

"Sensatsu Suisho (Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death)" she yelled and jumped back as the deadly needles rained down on him. Sasuke cursed and quickly kawarimi'd with one the kunai he threw earlier though he was still hit with several senbons.

"Raiton: Byakurai (Lightning Style: Pale Lightning)" Yoruichi from behind called out Haku who leaped to the side to avoid the beam of whitish-blue lightning, and let out a yelp as it grazed her left arm, cloth and flesh burning as it passed. Haku gazed at her injury before her eyes hardened as she nodded to herself. She didn't want to do this but it appeared she had no choice.

"Yoruichi-chan, Sasuke-san please surrender, I don't want to have to this but I will not fail Zabuza-sama" Haku pleaded with them as she flew through the handsigns needed.

"Hn, what could a lowly bitch like you do to an Uchiha elite such as myself" Sasuke replied arrogantly, missing the spike of killing intent from the Haku.

"Not a chance Haku-chan" Yoruichi said, glaring at Sasuke for his previous comment.

"Hyoton: Makyo Hyosho: (Ice Style: Demonic Crystal Ice Mirrors)" she called out as the water on the bridge rose off of the ground to form a dome of ice mirrors surrounding both Sasuke and Yoruichi.

"For what it's worth Yoruichi, I'm sorry" she said as she entered one of the ice mirrors. "But I can't fail Zabuza-sama" her voice echoed out as she appeared in each of the twenty-one ice mirrors several senbon clutched in each hand.

They could only curse and scramble to dodge as the hail of senbon descended upon them. Sasuke and Yoruichi ducked, weaved and dodged wave after wave of senbon, both avoiding the majority thanks to the perceptive abilities of the sharingan and the enhanced reflexes gained by constantly fighting at high speeds. They soon discovered that the mirrors were impervious to katon jutsu, much to their displeasure after one of Sasuke's fireballs hit a mirror with little effect.

Unfortunately for Sasuke, he was the first to fall in the fight, unable to counter Haku's onslaught. Each senbon that hit him impeded his movement and made him more sluggish, making it easier for Haku to hit him with more senbon and impede his movement even further until he collapsed to the ground, baring a striking resemblance to a porcupine.

Yoruchi grimaced as Sasuke fell, knowing that Haku's attention was solely focused on her now. Although Haku appeared to be slowing as the fight went on, making it easier for Yoruichi to dodge and deflect her senbon. Despite Haku's gradual decrease in speed that lead Yoruichi to believe that the jutsu was extremely chakra intensive she still had her work cut out for her as Haku continued to throw senbon at her.

Knowing this Yoruichi kept her eyes peeled, waiting for a chance to hit Haku and disrupt her senbon barrage, Her chance soon arrived, the wait for it punctuated by several more senbon hitting their mark as her fatigue from the fight caught up with her and dulled her reflexes. They mainly hit her left arm, leaving it to hang limply by her side.

She charged as she saw Haku dart from one mirror to another, channeling the last of her considerable reserves into her right arm, a white aura surrounding it as the density of the chakra caused it to become visible, cocked her fist back as she reached Haku and punched.

Yoruichi felt Haku's ribs break under the force of her punch before she discharged the chakra that surrounded her arm from her fist and into Haku's stomach, sending Haku straight through the previously unbreakable mirrors and onto to the bridge where she fell unconscious. With Haku unconscious the ice mirrors all shattered and the shards of ice rained down around Yoruichi who was staring at her right arm in awe, noting the fact that her sleeve seemed to have disintegrated during her attack before wincing at the lancing pain that surged through it. She grimaced and made a shadow clone before picking Sasuke up by the ankle with her left hand and dragging him along the bridge as she went to check on the others with her clone carrying Haku.

With Rangiku

Rangiku grunted as she felt the tip of Kaede's naginata slice across her stomach, opening up a red line, before she lunged forward hoping to run him through only for him to swiftly bat away her attack before spinning his naginata around with the tip towards the ground and stabbed downwards in an effort to pierce her back and pin her to the ground. She rolled forward to avoid the stab and once she was behind him she swung her leg back to kick the back of his legs out from underneath him. Kaede cursed and fell backwards onto Rangiku's blade, as he coughing up water as he was pierced but the blade.

_'Wait,_ _water?' _

"Raiton: Gian (Lightning Style: False Darkness)" a male voice called out as the water clone dispelled.

"Shit" Rangiku cursed as she leapt back to avoid the bolt of lightning that came from behind her and struck the space she previously occupied.

"Katon: Shakkaho" she called out as she launched an orb of crimson flame from her palm and in the direction the jutsu came from was rewarded with a scream of pain as she saw a burnt Kaede charge at her with his naginata ready to run her through as lightning natured chakra crackled around the blade.

Rangiku channeled wind chakra into Haineko and clashed with Kaede before forcing him back and launching a blade of wind at him. Kaede jumped up to avoid the deadly projectile only to be caught off guard by the red orb of fire that hurtled into his stomach and fell to ground, badly burnt and breaking his fall on Haineko's blade, though unfortunately for him, he wasn't able to substitute with a clone this time. Rangiku withdrew her blade from his corpse before wiping the blood off of Haineko and sealing away his body and weapons before going to check on the others.

With Kakashi

Kakashi channeled his lightning nature chakra into his kunai as Kensei did the same with his wakizashi and clashed with him before he felt the air leave his lungs as Kensei lashed out with a roundhouse kick that sent him flying. He righted himself in mid air and threw his kunai at Kensei while he landed and prepared his next attack.

"Shuriken Kage Bushin no Jutsu" he yelled as one kunai became one hundred, all hurtling towards Kensei. Kensei quickly kawarimi'd with a nearby crate, narrowly avoiding being turned into a pin cushion.

"Raiton: Jibashi (Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder)" Kensei yelled as he slammed his hands onto the ground and electricity surged forth, heading straight for Kakashi who found himself in the air once as he jumped up to avoid the attack.

"Katon: Hosenka (Fire Style: Phoenix Flower)" Kakashi yelled and launched a volley of small fireballs towards Kensei who quickly erected a water wall to block the attack.

Kensei ran to meet Kakashi and threw a right hook that Kakash ducked under before delivering a devastating punch to Kensei stomach, making him cough up blood as he doubled over. He grabbed Kensei's head and slammed it down on his knee, blood spurting forth from Kensei's newly broken nose as he reeled back.

Kensei ducked underneath Kakashi's follow up kick and stabbed Kakashi's shoulder, not going all the way through but still hurting him if the curse he gave was any indication. He followed up with a slash at Kakashi neck, hoping to decapitate him but Kakashi merely ducked and drove a kunai into Kensei's left thigh, severely hampering his mobility. He swiftly ran through handsigns before gathering lightning natured chakra into his right hand and holding it steady with his left as the chakra became visible, he charged at Kensei, determined to finish the with his only original jutsu.

"Raikiri" he screamed not giving Kensei's eyes the chance to widen before plunging his lightning encased fist into Kensei's chest and heart, killing him instantly.

He withdrew his bloody hand form Kensei's corpse with a sickening squelch before sealing it away, along with his weapon. He then began walking in the direction Naruto's fight, which seemed to be the only one still going.

With Naruto

They broke the deadlock and Naruto came at Zabuza, taking advantage of his sword's slender shape with a flurry of rapids thrusts. Zabuza dodged the first few before holding his Zanbatou in front of him, using the blade a an improvised shield against most of the stabs, grimacing as the final one targeted the semi-circular hole cout into the blade and pierced his left shoulder. He swung his zanbatou with a roar, opening a wide cut on Naruto's left side where his ribs were instead of horizontally splitting the boy in half as the attack was meant to as Naruto jumped back to avoid the death blow.

Zabuza grinned beneath his bandages. The spar, for that is what it for all intents and purposes was wouldn't be very fun without killing blows now would it?

They continued to exchange blows and Naruto started to smile as he basked in the sweet song of steel on steel, harsh clangs ringing out as he clashed with Zabuza again and again as the two danced amongst the sparks formed by the meeting of their blades, each attempting to defeat the other and neither giving ground. Blood spurted from nicks and cut caused by grazing blows as the dance continued, the world around them non-existent as they focused on each other, taking no notice of the others who watched their battle silently. Both swordsmen could feel the sheer joy in their hearts at being pushed so hard and fighting a truly worthy opponent in the most beautiful form of battle, kenjutsu.

They met in a deadlock before pushing off of one another and charging once more.

Naruto grinned as he brought Zangetsu up in time to block another of Zabuza's attempts to cut him in half. He shoved Zabuza off him and swung at his neck, grazing instead of severing it as he had originally intended as the missing nin leant back. He followed up with a rapid diagonal slash that Zabuza batted away with his zanbato before bringing the massive blade down on Naruto with speed far beyond what a that size blade should be capable of. Naruto nimbly sidestepped the strike and his eyes widened as he saw blade cleave through the bridge like a hot knife through butter. He tried to block Zabuza's next attack, a brutal two-handed horizontal swing before he felt his arms starting to buckle under the immense strength of Zabuza's attack. He jumped above Kubikiribocho as it carved through the space he previously occupied and spun in the air before stabbing downward through the hole near the tip, immediately stopping the blade in it's path.

He lashed out with a kick to the throat that Zabuza caught in the nick of time before slamming Naruto into the bridge, hard, smirking viciously at the pained cry that left his lips and threw him up and away at a nearby crane used during the bridges' construction. Naruto managed to right himself in midair and held his right arm out as the broken chain that hung from Zangetsu's hilt extended and wrapped around into his arm before he pulled harshly on the chain to free Zangetsu from the bridge, smiling lightly despite the pain he was in as he felt the familiar weight land in his waiting hand before landing midway up the crane and sticking there with his chakra. He grinned as he crouched against the crane before channeling a shit load of to his feet and jumping at Zabuza.

The result of this was a Naruto shaped missile rocketing towards Zabuza, propelled off the crane thanks to the sudden and explosive expulsion of chakra from his feet. Zabuza grimaced as he grasped Kubikiribocho with his two hands, knowing he would need the extra power and swung at Naruto intercept his strike. A shockwave shot out from the point of impact as the two swordsmen clashed, Zangetsu cutting into Kubikirbocho. Naruto kicked at Zabuza's chest during the deadlock with the former Kiri-nin being helpless to stop the attack thanks to the deadlock he was currently in. Zabuza flew threw the air with Naruto appearing in his path and bringing his elbow down savagely on Zabuza's chest making him coughed up blood as he hit the bridge, a small crater forming around his body.

Zabuza looked to Naruto holding Zangetsu to his throat with Kubikiribocho stabbed into the bridge behind him, out of Zabuza's reach.

"Do you yield" Naruto asked him, the tip of his blade digging into Zabuza's throat as he glared down at him.

Zabuza looked at him for a second before sighing. "Yes Naruto I yield" he answered. Naruto's face immediately broke out into a grin and he sheathed Zangetsu before offering Zabuza his hand to help him up. Zabuza took the proffered limb and pulled himself up and nodded his thanks.

"So what were you going to tell me about Zangetsu" he asked him as the others joined them.

"I'll tell you later Naruto, in private" Zabuza said as he cautiously eyed everyone in the group, a look of disbelief momentarily clouding his features as he saw Haku in Yoruichi's arms before it vanished.

"Fair enough. Besides, I think we have some company" Naruto replied as he looked towards the end of the bridge where Gato stood, accompanied by an army of thugs while a boat, no doubt carrying reinforcements was approaching the brideg from the distance.

"I should've known that reputation of yours was bullshit Zabuza. What kind of Demon gets his ass handed to him some punk like him? If wasn't for the fact that this makes you that much easier to kill, I'd actually be disappointed" Gato said as he saw the fatigued ninja. Gato then noticed the look of outrage that crossed Zabuza face as he realised what was going on and chuckled. "Don't look so surprised Zabuza, you didn't think I'd actually pay you for your services did you? Besides, missing-nin are so much more expensive than these mercenaries. Now boys, kill everyone on the bridge but keep the women alive, I can think of a few uses for them" Gato said, his grin becoming lecherous as he eyed Rangiku, Haku and Yoruichi, a grin that the majority of his thugs shared and made said women shiver in revulsion.

The army began charge forward only to be stopped as a single arrow landed at Gato's feet. Everyone looked for the source of the arrow, only to see Inari, crossbow in hand and the people of Wave standing right behind, each clutching improvised weapons like pitchforks or hammers, in the middle of the bridge.

"Inari what the hell are you doing here?" Naruto yelled at him in a concerned tone.

"Where else am I meant to be Naruto-nii? You said yourself 'Who else but the hero arrives in the nick of time to save the maidens fair?'" Inari replied with a cheeky grin which Naruto returned as he heard Inari paraphrasing what he said to him earlier.

"Good man Inari but stand back, and we'll take of these thugs, it's our job remember". Inari nodded and did as Naruto bid him, going over to stand by his grandfather while Sai joined his fellow shinobi.

"Hey Zabuza" Naruto called out, gaining the swordsman's attention.

"What Naruto?" Zabuza turned around only to catch two pills Naruto threw at him recognizing them to be chakra and blood pills.

"How do you feel about switching sides now and we can make it official later when we return to the village" he asked him.

"Sounds like fun" Zabuza said with a grin, eyeing Gato with a sadistic glint in his eyes as he took the two pills, feeling the blood and chakra he lost during the fight being replenished by them and picked Kubikiribocho up.

"Hey Naruto-kun, need another blade in this little bloodbath you're planning" Rangiku asked him with Haineko in hand, having healed the cut on her waist with some of the minor medical ninjutsu she knew.

"The more the merrier Rangiku-sensei" he replied with a grin.

"Hey Yoruichi-chan, aniki, Sai, would you guys mind taking care of anyone who slips past us" Naruto asked them and got a nod in response from the three ninja.

Naruto turned around to face Gato's thug army, noticing Rangiku taking her place on his left and Zabuza on his right. He grinned before charging at the thug army, with his fellow swordsmen close behind him.

Yoruichi and the people of Wave looked on in awe and horror as they watched the swordsmen and swordswoman tear through the thug army that must have been three hundred strong.

Zabuza lived up to moniker as a Demon as he savagely cleaved through the opposing army, bodyparts flying through the air as he swung his zanbatou, taking out multiple mercenaries with each swing.

Rangiku was far more elegant in her approach, slicing and stabbing her opponents in their vital points with deadly efficiency. Her orange hair spun around her as she ducked and whirled around the mercenaries' attempts to harm her before cutting them down.

Naruto was somewhere between the two, his movements somehow conspiring to be both brutal and graceful in their execution as he slew all those who opposed him. His style also seemed to be more erratic and unpredictable than the other's, getting the drop on the mercenaries several times when he swung Zangetsu by her chain before throwing her, impaling several thugs each time upon the ebony blade.

Despite the progress they were making in disposing of the thugs they soon found themselves surrounded.

"Guess it's time to take it up a notch" Rangiku said before holding Haineko up in front as she face the thugs. "Unare: Haineko (Growl: Ash Cat)" she called out as her blade turn to ash blown towards the mercenaries in front of her by a sudden breeze.

"I don't know what that was supposed to do lady but it'll take more than a little ash to beat us" one of thugs said as he laughed along with the others at the sight of her blade falling apart before him.

"Oh I wouldn't be so sure about that" she replied and before he could ask her what she meant she swung the sword hilt in her hand, making the ash cut through the thugs surrounding her before continuing on, now having a crimson tint as it was soaked in the blood of her foes.

Zabuza grinned stabbed Kubikiribocho into the ground before he created four water clones to help him with his next jutsu. "Suiton: Gochiso No Leviathans (Water Style: Feast of the Leviathans)" they called out once the handsigns were finished as five enormous horned serpents with glowing red eyes and glistening fangs rose up behind them from the water that they made from and crashed down on the thugs, crushing and sweeping them away along with his clones as Zabuza kept himself in pace by channeling chakra to the soles of his feet. He panted heavily from the strain of the justu and took another chakra pill to replenish his reserves before removing Kubikiribocho from the ground and stabbing it into the nearby corpse of a thug.

Those thugs who were out of the devastating jutsu's range watched in sick fascination as blood flowed up from the corpse and onto the blade, repairing any crack in the blade along the way.

Zabuza pulled the blade free from the corpse with a sickening squelch before resting it on his shoulder and cracking his neck as he looked at the next wave of thugs.

"So, who's next" he asked covered in blood with a grin that showed his pointed teeth, as the bandage had fallen from his face earlier in the fight.

The screams he got in response only made his grin wider, as he strolled after the now running thugs before vanishing from sight and reappearing in front of them.

"I guess I'll start with you then" he said, pointing Kubikiribocho at the first one to run ad decapitating him before the moving onto the next thug in line.

Naruto sighed as he went through his possible options for taking out the thugs before him. Getsuga Tensho was out as were most of his other jutsu out their explosive nature. He pouted for a second, he really wanted to blow these bastards the fuck up but he really didn't feel destroying what he and his clones helped make over the course of the last week.

So he went with Plan B.

_'Hey Kyuu-chan, can you lend me some chakra'_ he asked her.

_'Sure Naruto-kun, just hold on for a second' _Kyuubi replied as she sent her demonic chakra coursing through his chakra network, having an effect on his outward appearance as his whisker marks and eyes darkened, his canines and nails lengthened. One change no one noticed however was the traces of inky black that seemed to be seeping into his sclera.

Naruto grinned as he felt her power flow through him, though it felt a tad different to him from the previous times he drew upon it.

It felt… slightly familiar somehow… as if it was part of him and yet he could discern that the potent chakra was hers. But still… a small portion of it felt like his own, just much more malicious in nature. Zangetsu and Kyuubi noticed the slightly altered feel of the chakra as well and narrowed their eyes as they realised where it came from, their suspicions confirmed as they heard muted yet undeniably mad cackles from the fringe of Naruto's mindscape, where _he_ was locked up.

The thugs started to back away as a red shroud of chakra started to cover Naruto and make the little changes in appearance that marked his use of Kyuubi's chakra before receding into his skin once more. Some shivered at the raw malevolence and malice that seemed to ooze from him, others were frozen by it and the rest blindly attacked him, consumed by fear.

"Now then, who's up for round two?" he asked, his crazed grin doing an excellent job of showing off his sharp canines. He ran to meet the mob approaching him, blade in hand and disappeared into it, spurts of scarlet shooting skyward and wails of agony the only indication of his path as he cut through them.

Gato stared in horror at the three blood-soaked warriors as they approached him, the mass of mutilated flesh behind them the only remains of his army.

"S-stay away from me" he screamed as he tried to turn and run before stumbling and falling. He kept backing away until he felt his hands hit the edge of the bridge

"Can't do that Gato" Naruto replied as he grabbed the tiny tyrant by his collar and held him over the end of the bridge.

"P-please spare me, I'll give you anything. Money, women, power? You name it and it's yours" Gato desperately pleaded with them, eyes darting down to the harsh waters he would fall into if Naruto dropped him.

"Anything?" Naruto asked him.

"Yes, anything!"

"Very well then. Sign over your business to me and I won't kill you" Naruto asked him as he set Gato on the bridge. Gato immediately went to work and signed the documents necessary to transfer ownership of his business that he conveniently had in the briefcase he brought with him to the bridge. He soon finished and all that was needed to complete the transaction was the new owner's signature.

Naruto looked the documents over once they were completely in order and nodded to himself once he saw that they were. He then put them into Gato's briefcase before picking Gato up and throwing him to Zabuza who grinned and nodded his thanks.

"Zabuza, he's all yours" he said before walking back to the others with Rangiku, briefcase in hand.

"Thanks Naruto" he said as he glared at Gato.

"W-wait you said you wouldn't kill me if I signed over my business" Gato said in desperation.

"True, but I never said anything about Zabuza. And please don't take it personally Gato, it's just business" he replied coldly without looking back.

Gato didn't have time to say anything else before Kubikiribocho lived up to it's name and decapitated Gato before Zabuza kicked his corpse, head and body into the water below. The sight of their boss' corpse falling from the bridge startled the mercenaries who were approaching the bridge as the boat finally arrived with reinforcements for Gato's long dead army.

Naruto grinned as he saw them before pumping the majority of his remaining reserves into Zangetsu, an enormous black and cloak of chakra srrounding the blade before he swung the blade at the boat, releasing the deadly arc of chakra at the thugs.

"GETSUGA TENSHO" he roared and watched with a grin as the boat was cleaved in half by the crescent moon shaped attack before it exploded, ensuring no mercenaries survived the attack.

He turned back and walked to join his fellow shinobi and the people of Wave.

The villagers of Wave were silent for a moment as they watched Gato's long awaited death, quickly followed by the death of his last remaining thugs before they started cheering, tears of joy streaming down their faces at the prospect of finally being free from Gato's rule.

"Hey Tazuna, catch" Naruto said as he threw Tazuna the briefcase which he caught.

"Gaki, isn't this…" Tazuna started as he stared at the briefcase in his hands in disbelief.

"The deeds to Gato Inc.?" he finished cheerfully. "Yes, yes it is".

"I can't accept this" Tazuna said as he tried to hand it back to the swordsman but he was adamant.  
"Just consider it compensation for what Gato's done" Naruto told him with a smile while Tazuna stared at him with teary eyes.

"Thank you, thank you all for helping us" Tazuna said to the shinobi that stood before him, joy settling in his heart as he realised that they were finally free from Gato thanks to their efforts.

"It's no problem Tazuna-san, we were happy to help" Kakashi replied with his trademark eyesmile.

"Now then, I believe a celebration in order" Rangiku said brightly and got a loud cheer in response as they all left the bridge, when Kakashi stopped suddenly.

"You alright Kakashi?" Rangiku asked him as she noticed him fall behind.

"I think so, I just feel like I'm forgetting something" Kakashi responded thoughtfully.

"Eh, if you forgot about it's probably not that important" Rangiku replied, dismissing Kakashi's concern.

"Yeah, you're right Kakashi said as he nodded in agreement, continuing on and conveniently missing a fuming and still tied up Sakura lying a crate.

They partied hard and late that night, into the early hours of the morning, with booze flowing freely. All the shinobi, even Zabuza and Haku were treated like heroes that night, bar Sakura who was mysteriously missing, not that anyone cared and Sasuke who was still unconscious due to Haku 'accidentally' forgetting to remove the senbon that had rendered him unconscious.

Oops.

The group of shinobi however weren't the only heroes that night. Inari, for gathering the people wave together to stand up to Gato was seen as a hero by the people of Wave, just like Kaiza before him. He didn't know what to do with the attention and humbly said it was nothing, making himself look even better in the eyes of the people around him, especially the women who thought he looked adorable as his cheeks turned pink under all the praise he was receiving.

He turned beet red however when both Yoruichi and Rangiku pecked him on the cheek, saying that the hero should be rewarded by the maidens he saved before a goofy grin crept across his face and stayed for the rest of the night.

Kakashi also received some attention from the ladies, one buxom blonde in particular who led him to her home where she could 'show' him her gratitude, much to his obvious delight, if the thumbs up he shot Naruto was any indication.

Rangiku had started yet another drinking contest, this time with Zabuza, Tazuna and some other villagers. It had clearly been going on foe a while as several villagers were passed out on the floors and Haku was nervously hanging on the edge of onlookers as she eyed her master down bottle after bottle.

Sai had offered to stay behind and look after Sasuke, he still had his orders to keep an eye on him, plus he was never that good with large groups of people. He also needed some privacy to go over the data his clone had gathered on Naruto.

And Naruto, well he was searching for Yoruichi and found her on cliff near the village, one leg hanging off it and hugging her other knee to her chest as she looked at the ocean.

"Room for one more?" he asked as he approached her.

"Sure" Yoruichi said as she patted the patch of grass beside her, beckoning him to sit down beside her.

"So what are you doing out here, I thought you'd be down there at the party".

"Just thinking".

"About what?"

"All sorts of clever little things" she said with a wry grin.

"Aren't you always" he asked playing along with her with an amused smirk.

"Flattery will get you everywhere" she replied.

"One can only hope. Seriously though ,what's on your mind, you're usually never this quite" Naruto asked her, his tone shifting from playful to concerned.

"I was just wondering how you three were able to tear that army apart and just continue on as if nothing happened" she asked him. "I mean I know they deserved it for what they had and would have done had they survived but …" she acknowledged before trailing off.

"… they were still human" he finished for her.

"Yeah" she said softly, not looking at him.

"Well, you've heard of Zabuza and his reputation before all this haven't you" he asked her and she nodded. "Well then, you know that when he grew up in Mist you had to kill your classmates to pass the graduation exam. He was the only one to survive that year and he was only nine years old. Hell, he wasn't even a student at the time. That's why he's known as the Demon of the Hidden Mist. And he also served as an Anbu for several years before his failed assassination of the Yondaime Mizukage. So you can't really expect to be shaken by killing some thugs" he said.

"As for Rangiku-chan she's been a ninja for some time as well so she's probably done things like this before so she's used to it, depressing as that may seem. In fact just think about what she is known as in the bingo book 'Rangiku of the Crimson Ash'. The ash obviously refers to her sword and it's power while the crimson part is an acknowledgement of the blood that stains her blade when she uses it" he said.

"What about you?" she asked him quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"What about you?" she repeated firmly. "How are you able to do it?"

"Simple. It had to be done and I couldn't let them escape, knowing what they would do if they had" he replied seriously. "And being trained by two sadists since age eight probably helps" he finished with a little grin and got a giggle out of Yoruichi.

_'Hey, I am not a sadist'_ Kyuubi yelled at him defensively.

_'When I started to train with you in evasion in my mindscape you had me dodge house sized fireballs while running your special obstacle course. An obstacle course that includes a lava pool, kunai launchers, and giant meteors falling from the sky that randomly explode and rainy down fiery fragments I might add' _he deadpanned.

_'It worked didn't it?' _she said with a pout, sulking at the fact that her training methods were questioned.

_'What about you Zan-chan? Are you going to deny it?' _Naruto asked her.

_'Nope'_ she replied happily.

_'Well, at she's honest'_ Naruto thought to himself, both amused and slightly disturbed at how happy she was when admitting it.

"Earth to Naruto" Yoruichi said as she snapped her fingers in front of his face, snapping him out his reverie.

"What?" he asked, startled.

"I've been trying to talk to you but you've been spaced out for the last few minutes".

"Sorry about that" he said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "I was just having an argument with the voices in my head".

"You know, if anyone else said that, I'd worry about their sanity" Yoruichi remarked.

"But you know mine is already long gone".

"Yep" she chirped happily in response.

"So what did you want to talk about?" he asked her.

"Us" she said.

"Oh".

They were both silent for a moment as they stared at each other. They both knew how they felt about the other and were relatively confident that their feelings were reciprocated by the other. It was merely a matter of who confessed first.

"Naruto-kun, I-I love you. I have since we were kids." Yoruichi told him, feeling a weight come off her shoulders as she finally made her feelings known.

"Yoruichi-chan, I love you too but…" he was cut off mid-sentence by a single pressed against his lips.

"I know all about the C.R.A. Naruto-kun, I have for a while" she said.

"And you're okay with that?" he asked her once she removed he finger.

Yoruichi sighed. "Admittedly I'm not thrilled at the prospect of sharing you but I've grown used to the idea and I know you'll treat us fairly. So who else do you have in mind?"

"I'm already with Kyuubi-chan and Zangetsu-chan and I'm falling for Mei-chan and Rangiku-chan" he answered her.

Yoruichi nodded. She'd guessed as much. She watched him stand up and took the hand he offered her to help her up. She tapped him on the shoulder and watched as he turned around before wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her lips softly his. Naruto froze for moment before he returned the kiss, sucking lightly on her lower lip while he wrapped his arms around her waist, hands happily resting on her magnificent derrier. Yoruichi, lost in the kiss, moaned as she felt his hands on her ass before she licked his teeth to gain entry and he happily obliged her, opening his mouth so her tongue could enter. Their tongues wrestled for a moment, wrapping around one another before he let her explore his mouth, something she did happily before she withdrew from his mouth with his tongue following hers, eager to some exploring of his own. It showed as the wet muscle delved into her mouth, happily clashing with her own tongue before exploring every inch of her moist cavern.

They separated soon afterwards as the need for air became to great, foreheads pressed together and panting as a trail of saliva connected their lips, loving golden orbs gazing into equally affectionate crimson ones.

"I've been waiting so long to do that" Yoruichi breathed out and Naruto nodded before grabbing her hand and leading her back to the Tazuna house, tired from the day and wanting to get some sleep.

One week later

The group of shinobi stood before the now completed bridge, ready to head back home. A crowd had gathered as the people of Wave wanted to bid their heroes farewell in person.

"Be sure to come back and visit" Tazuna said.

"Of course" Rangiku replied "And have some sake ready when we arrive".

"Don't worry I will" Tazuna said with a chuckle.

"Goodbye Naruto-nii" Inari said, tears building in his eyes.

"See ya later Otouto" Naruto said and waved as the group of shinobi headed off towards Konoha.

The villagers watched and waved as they faded into the distance.

"So what should call the bridge?" one villager asked.

"'The Super Tazunza Bridge'" Tazuna suggested and got a quick clip around the ear from Tsunami in the process.

"No, we should call the 'Great Naruto Bridge' in honor of the hero who gave our country hope" Inari said and got several roars of agreement from the crowd.

"'The Great Naruto Bridge' it is then" Tazunza said and smiled as the villagers cheered in agreement.

**AN: It's finally done. Sorry that this update took so long but there were several reasons why it did.**

**1. I couldn't write anything until July due to my Exams.**

**2. I had to help my older brother build his workshop and help him fix up the house while he's home from college.**

**3. I wanted to hang out with my friends.**

**4. I finally had enough free time play Assassin's Creed 3 properly. Love the game so far but I'm not all that fond of Connor, he's too boring for my tastes, especially when compared to Ezio.**

**5. Another contributing factor was the fact that this chapter was a bitch to write and several sections were rewritten multiple times and even now I'm still not completely happy with parts of it but I needed to update.**

**Anyway I'd like to thank you all for being so patient and as always please review to let me know what you thought of the chapter, specifically the fight scenes.**

**Take it handy,**

**Maverick Wilde**


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